Access to the Commonwealth electoral roll for medical research.

In the 2010-11 financial 2013, there was a dramatic reduction in the approvals granted by the Australian Electoral Commission for access to samples of the adult population derived from the electoral roll for the purposes of public health research. Much time and effort has been expended in making applications without success. Researchers refused access to electoral roll samples must rely on sampling methods that are not as robust and that may produce less reliable data. We outline a set of recommendations that, if adopted, will result in a fairer system for obtaining access to the electoral roll for public health research.

Indigenous health: chronically inadequate responses to damning statistics.

In the 10 years 1990-2000, despite improvements in some conditions, there has been little or no overall progress in the health of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations of Australia. This is in stark contrast to the gains made in Indigenous health in other countries. The issue is one of lack of commitment to and implementation of already existing policies. We need to (i) fully and adequately fund the Primary Health Care Access Program to provide the out-of-hospital services for prevention and early treatment required to break the cycle of ill-health; (ii) implement a National Training Plan to train the necessary health workforce; and (iii) introduce a National Infrastructure Plan to rectify the continuing deficiencies in water supply, sanitation, education and other basic services.