Andrew Partington

The great news for today: that the Albanese Government pulled its “friendless” Freedom of Information Amendment Bill.
Read @thepointau.bsky.social's "3 reasons to be glad the Government's FOI changes have been scrapped" --> thepoint.com.au/explainers/2... #auspol

Have registered and looking forward to this. The title makes it sound quite definitive, but it should be quite a debate.

The imperiled peer review system
@carlbergstrom.com @plosbiology.org
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... open-access

YouTube video by Saturday Night Live Medcast - SNL

#SNL might actually be onto something: "Medcast - the doctor's appointment that feels like a podcast"
youtu.be/jfsEgZAtMyc?...

Bringing together realist and economic approaches in the evaluation of health and social care interventions: a scoping review of theoretical, methodological and practical implications In the evaluation of complex interventions, economic evaluations aim to determine the relative cost-effectiveness of interventions but generate little…

It is possible to combine #realist and #economicevaluation approaches. This can generate better evidence in the evaluation of complex interventions. Few evaluations have explicitly combined the two approaches.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #healtheconomics #healthpolicy #HTA

YouTube video by ABC News In-depth Doomsday Clock Gets Closer to Midnight | Black Swans 4 | If You're Listening

Hopeful stuff from @mattbevan.bsky.social on how badly we’ve historically misread p(doom) — the true likelihood of catastrophe. Though if #ifyourelistening is too successful with this message, we might all lose the very fear that helps prevent the worst 😅
youtu.be/I9VKeKGao9M?... #auspol

Some folks think about the Roman Empire. I think about Australia’s low economic complexity every day.
Too much wealth from land/commodities, not enough capability-building. Mining booms inflate costs and squash all other pursuits --> classic #DutchDisease. #auspol

On #inflation and #interest rates - @jimchalmers.bsky.social may be dodging responsibility, but Jennifer Hewett & the AFR fail (refuse) to even name the issue of #taxreform. It's about structure, not just "spending". Cool demand in mortgage-free households & ease the burden on young workers. #auspol

Best of 2025 - Intergenerational equity and tax reform Much of the discussion about the need for tax reform to preserve intergenerational equity is confused. The main challenges facing young people, in particular, are the limitations on the supply of housing and climate change.

Best of 2025: What are the threats to intergenerational equity in terms of the distribution of income and wealth, and how far is tax reform relevant to ensuring future equity for today’s young people? #auspol #taxreform

Medical Research Matters

Sign the petition to 1) Drive economic growth and Australia’s global leadership in medical research; 2) Keep our researchers in Australia, working on groundbreaking cures and services; 3) Protect jobs and ensure the sustainability of vital research projects
www.moniqueryan.com.au/medical_rese...

‘We’re losing careers’: Leading cardiologist warns Australian medical research is in crisis The head of the Heart Research Institute is telling young scientists medical research is a “terrible career path”. There’s a $5 billion answer in the government’s budget.

“Maybe we need to stop being so polite and start calling it out for what it is,” said Heart Research Institute head Andrew Coats. “This is a tragedy.”
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed... #auspol

ChatGPT unveils new health tool for doctors Physicians can use the new product to access medical research and patient data securely.

ChatGPT unveils new health tool for doctors www.axios.com/2026/01/08/o...

Australian manufacturing is barely above 5% of GDP (US=10%). Our economic complexity ranking has fallen to 105th place (US=15th). Yet Australian taxpayers are funding US domestic manufacturing recruiting, training and equipment procurement. 🤦‍♂️ #fail #AUKUS #FOI #auspol

Can Urgent Care Clinics actually take pressure off hospitals? Yes, but they’re not the only way Urgent Care Clinics are one of three options for people to get care without going to a hospital emergency department.

"While [Healthdirect, Urgent Care Clinics, EDs and virtual EDs] target overlapping groups of patients, they’re currently evolving independently. Instead, we need to develop, implement and evaluate a plan for the integrated delivery of these services."
theconversation.com/can-urgent-c...

Hospital-based health technology assessment in France: how can we do more and better?* Health technology assessment (HTA) informs public decision-making regarding the use of medical innovations. In France, the national health authority (…

A great account of the barriers and enablers to HB-HTA. The work reported in the paper is itself a positive and admirable step forward.

Hospital-based health technology assessment in France: how can we do more and better?
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We measured Virtual ED staff perceptions of the working environment, attitudes to telemedicine, and the experience of their work, to permit comparison with physical EDs -->
Working Environment in a Virtual Emergency Department: A Cross-Sectional Study
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Here’s a clear, accessible, and unpretentious explanation of the errors in “Pop #MMT” as presented in books, blogs, and YouTube channels aimed at a general audience.

As David Gonski leaves the education system, he has one wish for our universities The outgoing Chancellor of the University of NSW says critical thinkers are needed more than ever.

“I would hope that governments to come will see the error of [the Job-ready Graduates scheme] and take it away. Labor has talked a lot about how bad it is, but haven’t done anything about it” - David Gonski, outgoing UNSW Chancellor.
www.smh.com.au/national/as-... #auspol #highered

This is an interesting piece. Analysis we've done support some of the findings

First, staff absences are higher on average in trusts that serve more deprived populations, and the effect is larger for mental health absences than for other conditions

I noticed that Spotify have started a chat function and have long had video content. Would kids be prevented from this, too?

Government playing down impact of CSIRO job cuts The prime minister, when in opposition, accused the Coalition of "hollowing out" the CSIRO. Now, following the announcement 350 research positions at the organisation will be cut, he is being accused ...

The level of below inflation funding, "just doesn't keep up with the cost of doing science".
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
#auspol

Meanwhile ... www.afr.com/policy/tax-a...

Would be great if some of any additional MRFF funding were ring-fenced for health services and health systems research. So far, it's just been doubling up the aims of the NHMRC.

The woman who exposed the childcare industry

Universal childcare?
"Start putting public money into publicly run centres ... anything less than that, I think is just negligent".
open.spotify.com/episode/5ogZ...

SVHM is adding value to the system. Those who opposed it are not. While some frame this as an equity-only issue & feel aggrieved by it, the reality is also economic: improving outcomes at low cost expands system capacity, benefiting all of us.

Prof. Jack Dowie shows how it was optimal for Humpty Dumpty to sit on the wall.
www.easybest.org.uk/presentations/, taken from his Nov 2018 seminar "Deciding how to decide".
#decisionanalysis #healtheconomics

"The happy compromise" on healthcare in Australia.

An oldie but a goodie from Ron Tandberg that's still relevant to #auspol, today.

Early View The Rise of Health Economics: Transforming the Landscape of Economic Research

📈 Once niche, health economics is now central to the field.

A new study shows its share in top journals tripled since the 1990s—driven not by conformity, but by innovative, high-quality research.

Health is shaping the future of economics.

Bravo @squigglyrick.bsky.social 👏 👏

A Guardian article titled: "Is paracetamol safe during pregnancy and does it have links to autism?"

I know nothing matters anymore, but I feel that the answer should really be in the title. You know, because people will not read the article but remember the question and think that if it was a ridiculous question we would not ask it in the first place...