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THE HON NICOLA ROXON MP - Minister for Health and Ageing
New health taskforce on prevention - tobacco, alcohol and obesity priorities. The Australian Government today announced the establishment of a new National Preventive Health Taskforce.
(i) strategies to tackle the health challenges caused by tobacco, alcohol and obesity, and (ii) a National Preventive Health Strategy by June 2009. The Government also announced that it would take immediate action to ensure
Preventive health measures become a key part of health funding agreements
between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments.
By July 2008, the taskforce will provide advice to Government on the framework
for the Preventive Health Partnerships to be included in the Australian Health
Care Agreements between the Commonwealth and the states and territories.
• Professor Mike Daube, Professor of Public Health at Curtin University of Technology and former Director-General of WA Department of Health; • Professor Paul Zimmet AO, Professor and Director of the International Diabetes Institute, and expert in obesity and type 2 diabetes prevention; • Ms Kate Carnell AO, CEO of the Australian General Practice Network (AGPN), former ACT Chief Minister, and former pharmacist; • Dr Lyn Roberts AM, CEO of the National Heart Foundation, with wide ranging experience in public health promotion, particularly in cardiovascular disease and cancer, and current Chair of the Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance; • Mr Shaun Larkin, General Manager of Benefits Management at health insurer HCF, and advocate of the role of the private health insurance sector in prevention; and • Professor Leonie Segal, Foundation Chair in Health Economics at the University of South Australia.
The Australian Health Ministers Conference will be asked to nominate two
government representatives with particular experience in Indigenous public
health, rural and remote public health, and community (including allied) health.
The taskforce will also co-opt external expertise as required, including medical
and clinical expertise from the Commonwealth’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor
John Horvath, and nursing expertise from the Chief Nursing and Midwifery
Officer. The taskforce will also seek input from the food, alcohol and medicines
industries, from health consumers, and from experts outside the health portfolio
in such areas as transport and town planning. The terms of reference and membership of the taskforce have been developed
following consultation with our state and territory health counterparts. The taskforce will report directly to the Minister for Health and Ageing, and
will be supported by the Department of Health and Ageing. The announcement coincides with today’s National Prevention Summit, co-hosted by the Australian Institute of Health Policy Studies and VicHealth.
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