Latest News
Across my career I have had the privilege to lead a specialist College, write hundreds of articles and textbooks, and provide policy leadership at a national level.
Here, I provide perspectives on key health and economic issues facing all of us as we seek a safe and just future…
The medical profession is failing to take care of its own – and the consequences can be disastrous, writes Stephen Robson
This year almost 3 million Australian women will find themselves in an age group where menopause is likely to affect their lives in some way.
When federal Health Minister Mark Butler addressed the National Press Club at the beginning of May last year, the centrepiece of his speech was about vaping. The minister committed his government to strong action against the scourge of e-cigarette use.
The “baby bust” must be part of Australia’s political agenda, so we can overcome this existential crisis, write Dr Clare Boothroyd, Dr Katharine Bassett and Professor Steve Robson.
In 2024, the world at the threshold of its fifth year dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the holiday season has coincided with the eighth major wave of infections.
Originally published Canberra Times
With a hot summer expected in Australia, only global action by governments can achieve the society-level change required to tackle climate change.
Although it is always difficult to provide an exact figure, the proportion of couples who experience a fertility delay is likely to be high. Recent, pre-pandemic, estimates suggest that as many as one in nine couples will experience infertility. It is also commonly reported that men’s fertility issues contribute to about half of all diagnoses of infertility. These findings are not confined to high-income countries - male infertility is recognized as a health issue globally.
Last week, I had the privilege of addressing the National Press Club. While the essence of the talk addressed how keeping people healthy is good for the economy, I spoke quite a bit about chronic disease and how common it is.
Problem gambling has a compounding cost not just for individuals but also for their families and their communities, write Professor Steve Robson and Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi.
Investing in mental health care will pay off for the Australian economy, write Australian Medical Association President Steve Robson and Australian National University Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi.
TO say that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on the Australian economy is quite an understatement. Despite the fact that, in global terms, Australia has weathered the pandemic relatively well to date and has seen strong recovery in recent months, the pandemic drove a record contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) in Australia as elsewhere.
This is hardly surprising given that all of the major capital cities on Australia’s east coast were blanketed in bushfire smoke for most of the summer. Canberra, the “bush capital”, took pride of place as the city with the worst air quality in the world for days at a stretch. These plumes of smoke that bore witness to catastrophic fires were so shocking that the situation made headlines globally.
THE emergence of modern Australia is a story of immigration. The peaceful settlement of millions of post-war migrants has been one of Australia’s greatest achievements and has been a key driver of our economic and social development. Of the 19 million Australians aged 15 years and older who live here now, almost seven million were born overseas. Indeed, about 28% of Australia’s overall population was born overseas, among high income countries a proportion only exceeded by Luxembourg and Switzerland.