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“The Labor Party does things and the Liberals clean up the mess. Repeat.”

This pithy description of Australian politics since World War 2 has arguably stood the test of time. Under the last Coalition government which came to power in 2013 there was a gradual reduction in the national deficit that had arisen from the 2008 global financial crisis. In 2019 Treasurer Josh Frydenberg proudly announced we were “back in the black”. The coffee mugs bearing that slogan have rocketed in value, unlike the Aussie dollar.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with major restrictions on individuals’ movements and on commerce. Once again the Treasury coffers were opened to avoid widespread business failures, unemployment and major recession - the ‘R’ word that so far is barely spoken.

Now the pandemic is coming to an end and the economy is bouncing back, as is inflation. It was low throughout the Coalition years at less than 2.3% but the Medicare rebate increase rarely reached half this level.

Details: Written by: David Guest; Published: 19 July 2022

Laneways

Gun Control

Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves.”
National Rifle Association tweet of 8 November 2018

This tweet by the NRA from almost four years ago riled many American doctors involved in trauma care. It was made in response to the American College of Physicians policy statement, Reducing Firearm Injuries and Deaths in the United States which deemed gun violence a "public health crisis" that "requires the nation's immediate attention."

It gave rise to the hashtag #ThisIsOurLane which sought amongst other things to end the 1996 Dicky amendment prohibiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from funding research into gun control. Similar research on automotive deaths and cigarette consumption had previously led to changes in public opinion, the law and ultimately reduced premature deaths.

The Australian gun law reform that resulted from the Port Arthur Massacre of 1996 is frequently cited as a successful demonstration of what can be achieved. It has contributed to the three fold decline in gun deaths from the early nineties.

Details: Written by: David Guest; Published: 15 July 2022

Local Survey highlights the importance of the arts during flood recovery

A survey of Northern Rivers residents conducted by five fourth-year medical students from the University of Western Sydney has highlighted the value of creating art and accessing arts activities to promote mental wellbeing.

The benefits of arts activities for health and wellbeing are well documented. The aim of this local study was to gauge the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns, and the subsequent loss of access to arts activities on mental health and wellbeing.

The research topic was developed by University Centre for Rural Health (Lismore) Research Lead Dr Natalie Edmiston, with the assistance of Dr Andrew Binns and Dr Tien Khoo. Students Ruban Sivakumar, Rory Sinclair, Jeyvin Nandakumaran, Tushar Vashisht and Sanju Sonnadara created the online survey especially for people living in Northern NSW.

Details: Written by: Janet Grist; Published: 14 July 2022

After the rain

Who pays for paradise after the rain?
After the rain - The Angels, November 1978

On 23 June 2022 NorDocs held its first face to face meeting in almost three years. “FloodDocs Recovery Day” was a chance for the North Coast medical community to come together to share their stories, the highs and the lows, of the recent devastating floods.

The towns along the Richmond and Wilson Rivers, having suffered through two years of COVID-19, were just starting to emerge from the pandemic when the record breaking flood of 28 February 2022 hit. It destroyed homes and businesses in North, South, East and Central Lismore as well as the downstream hamlets of Coraki and Woodburn. Five lives were lost.

Details: Written by: David Guest; Published: 14 July 2022

Does Lismore need a 'heart' transplant?

Should I stay or should I go now

If I go there will be trouble

If I stay it will be double

So you gotta let me know

Should I stay or should I go

While Council searches for solutions, an experts’ report says Lismore needs to build a ‘new heart’. Robin Osborne looks at early suggestions for the flood-struck city’s future.

The quandary is not new, ranging from the collective to the personal. Should We Stay or Should We Go, asked best-selling author Lionel Shriver in the title of a recent novel, while punk band The Clash wondered the same in 1981.

Like many others, for various reasons, they posed a question whose answers are frustratingly elusive.

Lismore, devastated by flooding, is facing the same dilemma – should it go, by folding its tents and moving uphill, or stay, like King Canute, the champion of stayers, and try to win the battle against nature by increasingly clever engineering and building solutions.