Health and poverty off the Australian political radar

It's been my impression of the Australian federal election campaign, with the Government and Opposition out-pork-barrelling each other and throwing billions of dollars at the rich and middle classes, that the poor are getting the rough end of the pineapple as in many previous elections.

So it's interesting to see that the Australian Medical Association, and Anglicare, are urging both sides of politics to do more on health and helping disadvantaged Australians. With just nine days to go, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Note that a recent Roy Morgan poll says that health is the main issue, even among Greens voters, as reported by Crikey.

Iraq is also pretty much off the agenda: In his campaign launch speech, John Howard failed to even mention the war for which he is responsible -- not a single word. (Take action.)

Categories: australia, poverty, health