2020 Summit: Health Agenda (Published in Farrago)

Health has been ubiquitous on federal and state government agendas recently, and it was no different at the 2020 Summit. Of particular concern for summitteers were alarming obesity statistics and the gaping disparity between urban and rural Australian health standards. Perhaps the most noteworthy suggestion was to focus on "community preventative programs", possibly including after-school programs to stimulate child and teenage exercise, tax incentives and levies on junk food.

Creating preventive health policy was discussed, with the key goal to create a national preventative health agency. This would be funded by taxes on products with a 'high social cost' - namely alcohol, cigarettes and junk food - and would commission research, devise interventions and market public health campaigns.

Focusing on preventative health strategies is prudent, as reducing the incidence of disease and allowing individuals to control their own health outcomes would make for a healthier Australian living standard.

The establishment of a Health Equalities Commission was arguably the most rational suggestion on the health agenda. It would focus on health, long-ignored and underfunded, in Indigenous and other disadvantaged communities. This might involve overhauling the Howard Government's Indigenous Intervention policy or drafting a new one altogether. Either way, increasing health standards in these communities to a level comparable with urban-dwellers is vital.

Unsurprisingly, the health agenda was extremely ambitious, but good and bad health does not discriminate between rich and poor, so the emphasis on preventative health strategies is wise, as is the strong stress placed on childhood ill-health and closing the gap between urban and rural Australia.