With energy production a major generator of greenhouse gases, moving to renewables is seen as crucial in driving down emissions and tackling global warming. At this year’s Healthy Environments and Lives Network conference (HEAL2022) which promoted “transformational change for environmental, planetary and human health”, clean energy was a core topic. In particular, the Clean Energy for HEAL (CE4HEAL) session focused on a binational research project highlighting efforts to bring clean energy to communities in rural and remote parts of India and Australia. CroakeyVOICES caught up with some of the participants as part of  Croakey Conference News Service coverage of #HEAL2022.. Featuring in the podcast are: Professor Anne Poelina: Nyikina Warrwa Traditional Owner. Chair of Co-Chair of Indigenous Studies Nulungu Institute, University of Notre Dame Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis: Director, NHMRC Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network. Professor of Global Environmental Health, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University Dr Veronica Matthews: Quandamooka woman from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) and co-chair of the HEAL 2022 conference. Associate Professor at the University Centre for Rural Health at the University of Sydney and Co-leader of the Centre for Research Excellence in Strengthening Systems for Indigenous Health Care Equity. Karrina Nolan: Yorta Yorta woman. Executive Director of Original Power and First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN) Steering Group Member. Borroloola Community Solar Project video from Original Power. Thomas Longden: Research fellow ANU Crawford School of Public Policy. Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific (ZCEAP) Grand Challenge. Jimmy Cocking: Chief Executive Officer at Desert Knowledge Australia. Follow the discussion on Twitter at #HEAL2022 and this Twitter list of presenters and participants. See our full #HEAL2022 coverage Read our #HEAL2022 Twitter threads: Bookmark this link for the Croakey Conference News Service coverage.

Solutions and barriers to reducing the waste and harm of low value healthcare were highlighted at the recent Choosing Wisely Australia National meeting, which brought together health professionals, researchers and consumers. Some of the successful initiatives profiled included a Canadian program to reduce low value transfusion practices, research pinpointing low value procedures, and efforts encouraging consumers to take a proactive and questioning approach to their healthcare. Suggestions included introducing compulsory clinical epidemiology for all medical and specialist training, increasing the use of decision support tools, and removing Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers for low value care. CroakeyVOICES caught up with some of the participants as part of Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the event. Featuring in the podcast are: Professor Rachelle Buchbinder: Rheumatologist and epidemiologist and the co-author with Dr Ian Harris of the book, Hippocrasy: How doctors are betraying their oath. Debra Letica: Choosing Wisely consumer advocate. Dr Wendy Levinson: Chair of Choosing Wisely Canada. Dr Arnagretta Hunter: Physician and cardiologist, and Human Futures Fellow Australian National University. Linda Beaver: Consumer advocate with the Consumers Health Forum and author at Health Voices. Katherine Burchfield: CEO, Choosing Wisely Australia and NPS Medicinewise. This podcast is part of Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the event #ChoosingWisely2022 Bookmark this link for the Croakey Conference News Service coverage. Also see our coverage of the 2019 and 2018 conferences.

First Nations people around the world – with strong and abiding connection to Country – increasingly are bearing the brunt of climate change. From rising sea levels, to ferocious bushfires, storms and drought, they often feel the impact first and hardest. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are part of a global First Nations movement demanding a seat at the table as decisions are made on climate change mitigation and abatement. A recent virtual roundtable meeting hosted by the Lowitja Institute in partnership with the National Health Leadership Forum and the Climate and Health Alliance heard from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, researchers, scientists and leaders on the impact of climate change and solutions and actions in response to the UN’s COP26 summit. CroakeyVOICES caught up with some of the participants as part of Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the event #IndigenousClimateJustice21. Featuring in the podcast are: Norman Jupurrurla Frank: Warumungu Traditional Owner. Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation. Dr Simon Quilty: Senior Staff Specialist, Alice Springs Hospital, and medical advisor for Purple House. Academic, Australian National University. Vanessa Napaltjarri Davis: Warlpiri and Northern Arrente woman and senior researcher Tangentyere Council Aborginal Corporation. Dr Veronica Matthews: From the Quandamooka community, Minjerribah, in south east Queensland, Dr Matthews heads the Centre for Research Excellence – STRengthening systems for InDigenous healthcare Equity (CRE-STRIDE), Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney. Millie Telford: Bundjalung and South Sea Islander woman and National Director, Seed Indigenous Climate Network. Josie Atkinson: Gumbaynggirr woman and research assistant at the University of Wollongong. Mibu Fischer: A Noonuccal, Ngugi and Gorenpul woman from Quandamooka Country and Marine ethno-ecologist with the CSIRO. Nicole Kilby: A Wiradjuri and Ngemba woman and policy officer with the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP). Pat Anderson: An Alyawarre woman and Chair of the Lowitja Institute. This podcast is part of Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the event #IndigenousClimateJustice21 Contact CroakeyVoices via: Email: cate.carrigan1@gmail.com Twitter: @croakeyvoices @CateeC This article is part of the #HealthyCOP26 series, which is being published in partnership with the Climate and Health Alliance. This article is also part of Croakey’s contribution to the Covering Climate Now initiative, an unprecedented global media collaboration launched last year to put the spotlight on the climate cr...

The impact of COVID-19 on palliative care, the need to address inequity of access for marginalised people such as the homeless, and ensuring palliative care is not an “eleventh hour” option, were just some of the themes at the 2021 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference. One thousand delegates from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, Canada, Africa and the United Kingdom came together for the four-day virtual gathering, which included sessions covering clinical, paediatric, aged, and holistic care and the impact of the pandemic. CroakeyVOICES Cate Carrigan took up some key themes with a range of speakers and presenters offering their innovative solutions and ideas for the future: Dr Naheed Dosani. Canadian palliative care physician and health justice advocate. Founder of the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) program in Toronto, Canada. http://www.icha-toronto.ca/programs/peach-palliative-education-and-care-for-the-homeless Professor Meera Agar, chair of Palliative Care Australia. Professor of Palliative Medicine at the University of Technology Sydney Margaret O’Connor. Emeritus Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Monash University Michelle Wood – Executive Officer – Banksia Palliative Care Service Victoria Maddison Naulty. Health promotions officer South Western Sydney Local Health District. https://www.thegroundswellproject.com/creative-legacy The song “His Way” used with permission of Creative Legacy Project artist Krishna Umali. Simon Waring – Palliative Care Australia consumer panel member. https://palliativecare.org.au/simon-waring Melissa Reader – Managing Director and CEO, The Violet Initiative. https://www.linkedin.com/company/violetinitiative/?originalSubdomain=au Helen Callanan – Death doula and doula trainer. https://preparingtheway.com.au/ Judy Hollingworth – Former Chair of MVP4P, and a Spiritual Care Practitioner – Manning Valley Push for Palliative, NSW Dr Hsien Seow – Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and Health System Innovation. podcast https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ This podcast is part of Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the #21OPCC Contact CroakeyVoices via: Email: cate.carrigan1@gmail.com Twitter: @croakeyvoices @CateeC

Thirty years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody #RCIADIC, there’s growing anger that key recommendations for change are ‘gathering dust’ on the country’s political shelves. Since the inquiry, more than 470 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, women and children have died in custodial settings and the number keeps rising. The anniversary sparked a call for urgent action from some of the families of those who have died, including the implementation of all the recommendations of the Royal Commission and an independent investigation of all deaths in custody. Among the key issues highlighted by community leaders are the impact of racism throughout the criminal justice system, the need to improve health services in jails – including palliative care, a lack of support for families involved in coronial hearings, and the ongoing battle to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. Croakey Voices explored the issues with Associate Professor Megan Williams, Wiradjuri justice health researcher and educator, and member of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Prisoner Health Information Committee; Jeffery Amatto, founder of the ‘More Cultural Rehabs, Less Jails’ program; and Dr Peter Malouf, Wakka Wakka and Wuli Wuli executive director of operations at the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW. Dr Megan Williams: Research Lead and Assistant Director of the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney, member of the Australian Institute of Health. Jeffery Amatto: Founder ‘More Cultural Rehabs, Less Jails’ program and co-founder Brothers 4 Recovery Alcohol and Drug Awareness. Dr Peter Malouf: Wakka Wakka and Wuli Wuli man and executive director of operations at the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW. This podcast is part of Croakey’s #RuralHealthJustice series, putting a sustained focus on issues being raised to mark the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Powerful voices for change at the recent Consumer Health Forum Shifting Gears Summit called for full partnership with clinicians in designing health care into the future – laying the ground for a more patient reflexive system. In CroakeyVoices’ second dive into the recent summit, we hear about the importance of consumers questioning treatment options and asking for alternatives, examine a UK model of patient/clinician partnership and catch up with how health consumer advocacy is driving change in New Zealand. The Consumer Health Forum’s first Australasian Summit, with contributions from around Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, focused on how health consumers, with their deeper knowledge of their own conditions, should play a vital role in improving the healthcare system. CroakeyVoices’ Cate Carrigan explored the themes of health quality and care with a number of keynote speakers and delegates: Professor Anne Duggan: Clinical Director at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and Conjoint Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle. David Gilbert: Director of In Health Associates, the first Patient Director in the NHS at the Sussex MSK Partnership (Central), and author of “The Patient Revolution – how we can heal the healthcare system”. https://www.inhealthassociates.co.uk/publication/the-patient-revolution/ Rosalie Glynn: Chair of the Counties Manukau DHB Consumer Council and consumer representative on the Quality Safety Marker group and the Patient and Whaanau Centred Care Board (PWCC). Louisa Wright: Louisa Walsh is a PHD candidate at the centre for Health Communication and Participation at La Trobe University.

The Consumers Health Forum’s ShiftingGears Summit, saw over 800 delegates taking part in an energised discussion about the importance of consumer participation in transforming and improving health services. No longer content to just receive health care, consumers spoke up about the need for greater engagement at all levels of health service: from planning to delivery, research and management. They want a healthcare system where patient input isn’t just box-ticking a questionnaire but full partnership, with consumers engaged in every aspect of health delivery – with the conversation moving from what can medical science do to what do you want, why and will it make your life better? The multi-national virtual gathering, with representatives from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, sparked spirited debate on moving consumers to the very heart of health service planning, with co-design and the power of digital technology highlighted as two critical tools to empowering consumers. But there were also concerns about access and lip-service that didn’t provide meaningful change, to the slowness of change, and to ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Maori and other First Nations people were given culturally appropriate care and access, and that the digital revolution didn’t further isolate people without the internet or digital devices. CroakeyVoices spoke to a range of delegates about the opportunities and challenges ahead: Vincent Dumez. Codirector of the Centre of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public at University of Montreal. Kellie O’Callaghan. Consumer advocate. Past chair of a regional health service and involved in a range of state and local health-focused boards and committees. Craig Cooper. Consumer advocate and member of the NSW Health Clinical Excellence Commission Consumer Council Rosemary Ainley. Editor of CreakyJoints Australia and co-leader of the Young Women’s Arthritis Support Group Kelly Foran. Founder Friendly Faces Helping Hands Foundation and consumer advocate Roxxanne McDonald. Consumer Health Forum Board Director and YHF Young leader.

While people living in rural and remote parts of Australia have higher rates of heart disease, hospitalisations and poorer access to primary health care services than those in metropolitan areas, the new Rural Health Commissioner Associate Professor Ruth Stewart believes they also have the solutions, tapping into their own talent pool. Stewart, who lives of Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, and former and inaugural Rural Health Commissioner Emeritus Professor Paul Worley, are both passionate advocates of rural health and determined to give local people the power to ensure your health isn’t determined by your postcode. They spoke to CroakeyVOICES Cate Carrigan about their vision for rural health, the impact of COVID-19 and why becoming a rural or remote health worker could be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Rural Health Commissioner, Associate Professor Ruth Stewart, former Director of Rural Clinical Training and Support at James Cook University. Former Rural Health Commissioner, Emeritus Professor Paul Worley, College of Medicine and Health, Flinders University, South Australia.

With COVID19 devastating lives and livelihoods around the globe, health experts are looking for lessons for a better, more equitable tomorrow, where food and job security, people-focused urban design and access to healthcare are not reliant on country of origin, cultural background or postcode. Over five weeks, VICHealth’s “Life and Health ReImagined” webinar panels looked at the lessons from the pandemic, investigating urban design, healthier work environments, sustainable food systems and jobs, and how the social determinants of health: housing, income, and location are intrinsically linked to health outcomes. CroakeyVoices took up the discussion with panellists, incorporating snippets from panel discussions, to highlights some of the key points and flesh out some of the creative solutions for a better tomorrow ACTU assistant secretary Liam O’Brien says Australia holds the world record when it comes to insecure work, with “one in ten workers going to work while sick because many insecure workers don’t have access to sick leave”. According to The Community Grocer Founder, Russel Shields, Australia needs to move away from the food rescue model to feed people, arguing “our community markets model provides fresh, diverse produce at highly discounted prices in a farmers market environment”. Dr Rachel Carey: Lecturer in Food Systems, University of Melbourne Farhat Firdous: Multicultural Strategic Engagement Coordinator for Gippsland, Latrobe Community US urban planner Anna Muessig: Associate Gehl in San Francisco City of Yarra Councillor, Jackie Fristacky Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Seema Abdullah Professor Sir Michael Marmot: Director UCL Institute of Health Equity Sharon Friel: Professor of Health Equity, Director Menzies Centre for Health Governance, School of Regulation and Global Governance Anna Peeters: Professor of Epidemiology and Equity in Public Health and Director of the Institute of Health Transformation at Deakin University Former federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon Kellie Horton from VicHealth

What are the chances of reform to the prison system in the wake of COVID19? The pandemic has shone a light on overcrowded facilities and, in particular, on the high and growing rates of incarceration of First Nations peoples. In the second of two #CroakeyVOICES podcasts funded by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas,Associate Professor Megan Williams, the Research Lead and Assistant Director of the National Centre for Cultural Competence at The University of Sydney, and Cate Carrigan look at calls for prison reform in the wake of COVID19. Change the Record’s Cheryl Axleby says there’s been an 88 percent increase in incarceration rates for Indigenous Australians over ten years, and argues it’s time to repeal punitive bail laws, end the offence of public drunkenness, raise the criminal age to fourteen and implement the recommendations of the Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission. We also hear from Robert Houston, a former director of the Douglas Country Corrective facility in Omaha, USA, and lecturer at the School of Criminology at the University of Nebraska; Greg Barns from the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Debbie Kilroy from “Sisters Inside”; Thomas “Marksey” Marks, an artist and former inmate in the Victorian prison system; Ron Wilson, the President of Australasian Corrections Education Association; and Murray Cook, founder of the NSW Community Restorative Centre’s SongBirds program. ** Confined 11 – The Torch virtual exhibition, selling artworks from inmates and former inmates of Victoria corrective facilities, continues until June 7. https://thetorch.org.au/exhibition/confined-11/ ** Songbirds https://www.songbirds.com.au/

Around the world, the novel coronavirus has spread rapidly throughout many prisons, and in Australia prisoners and their families are anxious about the potential threat from outbreaks here, especially for First Nations inmates. In the first of two #CroakeyVOICES podcasts funded by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, Associate Professor Megan Williams, the Research Lead and Assistant Director of the National Centre for Cultural Competence at The University of Sydney, and Cate Carrigan look at the impact of the pandemic on prisoners and their families. Dr Kris Rallah-Baker, the President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) warns it’s no time to be complacent, saying “It’s definitely not a time to relax around #COVID19. It’s still a real threat in this country. We can’t assume because we’ve got low rates in the community that prisons are safe”. Rallah-Baker’s concerns are echoed by co-chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, Nerita Waight, who says since the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody, “420 or our people have died in custody. Given they’re at greater risk (due to a prevalence of underlying health conditions), we’re concerned there’s going to be more Aboriginal deaths in prison due to #COVID19”. “They (the families of prisoners) miss their loved ones desperately. There are really good reasons for stopping (face-to-face) visits but it’s taking a toll”. Dr Mindy Sotiri, Program Director, Advocacy Research Policy, Community Restorative Centre, Marrickville, NSW. “The real challenge for the children of prisoners at the moment is the lack of contact and information. They’re really concerned about mum or dad’s wellbeing”. April Long, National Programs Director, Shine For Kids. “….I’m just worried that people are going to be killed in custody by corrections officers at this time due to the way that they are transported and restrained …and the lack of healthcare.” Latoya Aroha Rule, sibling to Wayne Fella Morrison who died after collapsing in a police transport van in 2016. Also hear an excerpt from the Ear Hustle Podcast from San Quentin Prison, California. https://www.earhustlesq.com/

As infection rates decline across Australia and social distancing rules are relaxed, mental health experts are warning of a second wave; a surge in people seeking mental health services. CroakeyVoices speaks to the co-director of the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, Professor Ian Hickie. How loneliness, anxiety about the future and social isolation are fuelling a surge in online gambling, and making what could be the only social outing in a day of life under COVID-19 a special connection for those struggling to make ends meet. Tony Clarkson, Principal Clinical Advisor at Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Infectious Diseases Physician, Senior Lecturer, James Cook University and University of QLD, Trent Yardwood. Eliza van de Smam, OzHarvest, Kensington, Sydney.

The curve has flattened, more protective gear is being imported and manufactured locally, and the Federal Government has responded by partially winding back a ban on elective surgery. But will this undermine preparations as we head towards Winter in the time of COVID 19? CroakeyVoices talks to peak health organisations concerned about the preparedness of rural and remote services. Alison Verhoeven, Chief Executive of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association; and the CEO of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Peta Rutherford, caution against complacency. Meanwhile, the head of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT, John Paterson, says the coronavirus crisis has exposed the underfunding of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Clinics and other remote health services, and calls for more work to improve housing in remote communities, saying it’s key to better health. And a cross country trek in the time of COVID19 with a health researcher taking up a new job in the NT.

Homelessness of the time of COVID 19 has some special challenges. Who can stay home when you don’t have a place to call your own? How can you keep a safe social distance when life is a day-to-day battle to survive. We hear from the South Australian State Manager of NEAMI, Kim Holmes, about her state’s quick response to the needs of the homeless and University of Adelaide Researcher Alison Barrett talks about the national response to date.. And the power of music .. GP and health blogger Dr Tim Senior speaks of the healing power of his viola and learning the strength of community from his patients at the Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation Community Controlled Health Service in South West Sydney.

COVID19 is fuelling a collapse in advertising revenue and placing traditional media companies, already under the strain of digital competitors, at further risk. We talk to journalist, editor and former Google News Initiative Teaching fellow Saffron Howden about the toll on Australian regional publications and how closures and cutbacks are coming at the time communities need their local news information more than ever. And the way the people of South Korea got on board with testing, tracking and tracing of COVID19 infections – is the loss of privacy justified for the public health good? Jinhee Kim, a South Korean public health researcher living in Australia, takes us behind the statistics.

Travel to remote communities to hear the challenges facing Indigenous Australians as the coronavirus threatens to spread throughout the country. We hear from Chips Mackinolty, the executive director, Researcherenye Wappayalawangka, Central Australia Academic Health Science Network. And what does the Federal Government’s multi-million dollar injection into telehealth do for patients and medical practitioners in the face of the outbreak? Hear from Dr Centaine Snoswell, the Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland.