Sitting comfortably? How sitting is affecting our health

Image: Department of Immigration

A growing body of evidence is pointing to the health risks associated with sedentary behaviours, and in particular risks associated with prolonged periods of sitting, independent of other physical activities.

The consequences of a poor anti-money laundering program: the HSBC case study

Image source: Flickr user photobunny

On 17 July 2012, the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (the Committee) released a lengthy report detailing significant deficiencies in the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing systems of one of the largest banks in the world.  The report is the result of a year-long inquiry by the Committee involving over 75 interviews and the examination of more than 1.4 million documents.  It reveals a long history of weak anti-money laundering controls resulting in the misuse of HSBC’s key US affiliate to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking, circumvent the prohibitions designed to prevent funds from being directed to rogue jurisdictions and to provide US dollars to banks linked to terrorist financing.

Staying on at school is not just a matter of money



Image: Victorian Government

 There is considerable evidence about the correlation between socio-economic status (SES)–particularly parental income, education and occupation–and educational attainment. Hence the inclusion of a measure of SES on the Myschool website, which allows for the comparison of ‘SES-equivalent’ schools, and higher education institutions receiving funding on the basis of meeting targets for the representation of students from low SES backgrounds.

While traditional SES measures may allow for comparisons or targets, they provide little guidance to policy makers on how to overcome such disadvantage–it is generally not possible to change the education level of a student’s parent for example. However a new study has emphasised the role of student characteristics–aspirations, poor school experience and participation in activities such as smoking and alcohol consumption–which may prove more amenable to direct policy interventions.

Australia’s performance against Anti-corruption treaty reviewed

Image source: Commonwealth Ombudsman

Australia signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in December 2003 and ratified it two years later.  A summary of the findings of the first review of Australia’s implementation of the UNCAC was released on 18 June 2012.  The review of chapters III and IV of the UNCAC coincided with the Australian Government’s development of the country’s first National Anti-Corruption Plan.  While the findings were largely positive, the reviewers also identified several challenges and areas of improvement.

SBY’s visit – the bigger picture

At the second Indonesia-Australia Leaders’ Meeting in Darwin on 3 July, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono re-affirmed the two countries’ ‘comprehensive strategic partnership, based on a mutual commitment to each other’s progress, prosperity and security’. The

Joint Statement agreed by the two leaders highlights cooperation across a range of issues, including regional institutional architecture, trade, defence and maritime cooperation, policing, development assistance, and people-to-people links.

What can be done about the social determinants of health?

Image source: World Health Organization

Three recent reports: the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report on perinatal depression, Australia’s Health 2012 (produced by the AIHW) and the Council of Australian Government (COAG) Reform Council performance report on the National Healthcare Agreement (2008) have highlighted the impact of the social determinants of health. These reports demonstrate the relationship between income, health status and access to health care. They clearly show that Australians with low incomes usually have poorer health outcomes.

Trafficking in Persons Report 2012

On 19 June, the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, released the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report. The TIP Report is produced annually by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons within the State Department, and is seen by the US Government as its ‘principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking’. Released on Juneteenth or Freedom Day, the 2012  Report has particular resonance for the US as 22 September 2012 is the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Proclamation 93, Declaring the Objectives of the War Including Emancipation of Slaves in Rebellious States.

Appliance energy ratings get the standard treatment

Image source :ACT government

Parliamentary debates on the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) Bill have been deferred. The Bill was originally scheduled for discussion on Thursday 28 June, with the portfolio Shadow Minister to outline the Coalition’s position. Although the scheme started out as a Labor election promise in 2007, it evolved into a commitment under COAG’s National Strategy on Energy Efficiency to ‘establish national legislation for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and labelling, and over time move to add Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS)’. This Bill implements that COAG commitment.

New Place Based Income Management to commence 1 July

Image: Bankstown Railway Station (Wikimedia Commons)

A new form of income management being introduced next week will extend welfare quarantining to selected disadvantaged areas across Australia, targeting people involved in child protection matters and deemed vulnerable to financial hardship.

From 1 July, the Government will introduce a new form of income management to communities in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
 
So, how will the new Place Based Income Management operate and how does it differ from existing forms? Why base it in particular areas? What do we know about whether or not it is likely to be successful?

Update on statistics for boat arrivals

The Parliamentary Library produces a number of publications about asylum seekers and immigration. The publication, Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976 provides a brief overview of the historical and political context surrounding boat arrivals in Australia. An update of the statistical appendix on boat arrival figures is provided below. Please note that the publication has not yet been formally updated.

Trafficking in Persons - Special Rapporteur's Report to the Human Rights Council

On 22 June, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons especially women and children, presented her annual  report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, including reports of her missions to Thailand and Australia.

Special Rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (formerly the Commission on Human Rights) to investigate, monitor, and advise on human rights violations – world wide or in specific countries. In carrying out her mandate, the Special Rapporteur undertakes country visits to study the situation on the ground and, develop recommendations to better prevent or combat trafficking and protect the human rights of its victims; and takes action on complaints about human rights violations against trafficked persons.

Australia's tertiary students - the latest snapshot

Almost twice as many higher education graduates enrol in vocational education and training courses than the other way round.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has just released Tertiary Education and Training 2010, an annual publication that compares vocational education and training (VET) and higher education on a range of key measures.

It draws on data from the National VET Provider Collection and the Higher Education Statistics Collection.

How's it going? Australia's Health 2012



Source: AIHW

 The thirteenth report on Australia's health was released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on 21 June 2012. The AIHW describes Australia's Health 2012 as 'the most comprehensive and authoritative source of national information on health in Australia', and many would not disagree. Produced biennially since 1988, the report has grown both in size and stature as a reliable report card on the status of the country's health and the services and resources that deliver and support it. A companion In brief publication was also released.

Is $325 million enough for Tasmania's health care system?



Image source: www.yourhealth.gov.au

 Last week, after much speculation, the Federal Government announced that it would provide an extra $325 million over four years to Tasmania’s health care system. Previously the Tasmanian Government had announced cuts of up to $500 million over four years to the health care system, commencing from 1 July 2011. Many of these cuts were directed to elective surgery, reduced services and the closure of hospital beds. The most recent Tasmanian budget (May 2012) announced a reduction of the savings target by $120 million.

2011 Census release

Image Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the first data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Australia’s population has risen to over 21.5 million, with more people born overseas. There has also been an increase in the proportion of Australians identifying as Indigenous, and fewer people now identify a religious affiliation.

Australia’s migrant population is growing and changing

In the decade to 2011, the proportion of the population who were born overseas increased from 27.4% to 30.2%.

Over the same period, the proportion of Australians with at least one parent born overseas increased from 42.7% to 46.3%

There was a shift away from Europe and towards Asia.

• The number born in India more than trebled, from 95 452 in 2001 to 295 362 in 2011.
• The number born in China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) more than doubled from 142 780 to 318 969.

Income management: some answers to key questions

Image: BasicsCard kiosk, (Centrelink)

From 1 July 2012, income management will be extended to five new disadvantaged communities across Australia: Bankstown (New South Wales), Logan (Queensland), Rockhampton (Queensland), Playford (South Australia) and Greater Shepparton (Victoria).

While the policy of income management of welfare payments has been highly controversial, the specific details of its various forms are not generally well understood.

The Parliamentary Library has released a Background Note seeking to address this lack of understanding. It provides a brief overview of the history of income management and responses to a number of key questions about the policy.

New marine reserve proposals

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The Commonwealth is proposing the proclamation of 44 new marine reserves covering a total of 2.34 million square kilometres by the end of the year. The move has drawn criticism from fisheries bodies for excluding fishing in substantial areas of the ocean; at the other end of the spectrum, some conservation bodies were disappointed that the government had not banned oil and gas exploration in areas adjacent to existing marine parks.

Hearing impairment—the silent barrier to Closing the Gap

Image source: Northern Territory Government

On May 15 students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across Australia commenced the annual tests for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing. No doubt when the 2012 results are released they will continue to show a substantial gap between the achievement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. For example, the 2011 Year 3 reading results report that 21.3 per cent of Indigenous children were below the national minimum standard compared to just 3.3 per cent of non-Indigenous children.

Dissecting the growth of vocational education and training in Victoria

Image source: Victorian Government

The announcement of an Enterprise Migration Agreement providing for the recruitment of temporary overseas workers for the Roy Hill project in the Pilbara has fuelled debate about the supply of skilled workers for industry, and to what extent Australia needs to import skills rather than ‘grow our own’.

Amid this debate, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has released preliminary Students and Courses data for 2011. The full publication (due in July) provides data on the numbers of students, subject enrolments, hours of delivery and qualifications in Australia’s public vocational education and training (VET) system.

The preliminary data reveals some interesting results for one state in particular: Victoria.

The deeper worries about coal seam gas

Image source: WikiMedia Commons

One-third of Eastern Australia cooks its breakfast, warms its homes, and generates its power from natural gas, the main component of which is methane, supplied by coal seam gas (CSG) operations. Our need for natural gas has allowed CSG operations to grow, but critics contend that this has not always been accompanied by sufficient understanding of the social and environmental implications. Ground and surface water contamination, water consumption, and waste disposal are but a few issues fuelling the ongoing debate. However, reports of deeper risks are now surfacing.