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Stephen Duckett

Director, Health Program, Grattan Institute

Professor Stephen Duckett is Director of the Health Program at Grattan Institute and Emeritus Professor of Health Policy at La Trobe University. He has held top operational and policy leadership positions in health care in Australia and Canada, including as Secretary of what is now the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. He has a reputation for creativity, evidence-based innovation and reform in areas ranging from the introduction of activity-based funding for hospitals to new systems of accountability for the safety of hospital care. An economist, he is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

What is the hospital funding agreement politicians are talking about today?

Dec 06, 2023 07:47 am UTC| Politics

National Cabinet meets today to discuss three big issues in Commonwealth-state financial relations: GST allocation, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding, and a Commonwealth government proposal to kick-start...

How does Australia's health system stack up internationally? Not bad, if you're willing to wait for it

Nov 28, 2023 23:15 pm UTC| Health

When things are going bad in the health system, we are reassured weve got one of the best health systems in the world. But were rarely told where we actually stand relative to others. A new report from the Organisation...

When aged care workers earn just $22 an hour, a one-off payment won’t fix the wage problem

Feb 02, 2022 08:57 am UTC| Economy

The federal governments promise of up to A$800 between now and May for aged care workers is a short-term political fix designed to cover over a long-term policy failure. Numerous reports have pointed out Australias more...

Vaccine Rollout 2.0: Australia needs to do 3 things differently

Jul 01, 2021 03:19 am UTC| Health

Australias vaccine rollout started just over four months ago. It has not gone well, to put it mildly. To date, only 24% of the population have had at least one dose of a vaccine, and nearly 5% 1.2 million people have...

New aged care data on hospitalisation rates show significant problem areas in residential aged care

Feb 02, 2021 13:13 pm UTC| Life Health

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety released new data overnight comparing hospitalisation rates from residential aged care facilities. The report found 36.9% of nursing home residents presented to an...

Young people dropping private health hurts insurers most, not public hospitals

Feb 19, 2020 01:49 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

Young Australians are abandoning private health insurance in droves. And the overall decline in the percentage of the population with private coverage is continuing. New data for the three months to the end of 2019,...

How do you stop the youth exodus from private health insurance? Cut premiums for under-55s

Dec 04, 2019 11:26 am UTC| Insights & Views Business Health

Young people dont see private health insurance as good value for money. And theyre right: the cost of their expected use of private health care is significantly below what they pay in insurance premiums. Unsurprisingly,...

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Economy

India Eyes Swift U.S. Trade Deal with Rare Forward MFN Clause

India is accelerating trade talks with the U.S., offering significant concessions to secure a fast-track deal ahead of President Donald Trumps proposed 26% reciprocal tariff deadline in July. According to Indian government...

Sweden’s Q1 2025 GDP Stalls, Missing Growth Forecasts

Swedens economy stagnated in the first quarter of 2025, with gross domestic product (GDP) showing no growth compared to the previous three months, according to preliminary data from the Statistics Office released Tuesday....

Australia's Wine Export Surge to China Loses Steam Amid Global Decline

Australias wine export boom to China is losing momentum, as global wine consumption falls and Chinese demand weakens. Following Beijings removal of tariffs on March 29, 2024, Australia exported just over A$1 billion ($640...

Gold Prices Fall Over 1% as U.S. Eases Auto Tariffs, Investors Eye Key Economic Data

Gold prices slipped more than 1% in Asian trading on Wednesday after the U.S. announced measures to soften the impact of auto tariffs and affirmed ongoing trade talks with China. Spot gold dropped 1.1% to $3,308.93 per...

U.S. Stocks Edge Higher as Investors Focus on Trade Hopes, Earnings Reports

U.S. stocks posted modest moves on Monday as investors digested trade updates and awaited key earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114 points, or 0.28%, while the SP 500 inched up 3 points, or 0.06%. The...

Politics

Supreme Court Case on Trump Firings May Impact Fed Chair Powell’s Job Security

A Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trumps removal of two federal labor board members could have major implications for the independence of the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powells job security. Trump dismissed...

Iran Proposes Rome Talks with Europe Amid Renewed U.S. Nuclear Negotiations

Iran has proposed a meeting with Britain, France, and Germany (E3) in Rome this Friday to advance discussions on the 2015 nuclear deal, diplomats said Monday. The proposal follows renewed nuclear negotiations between...

Trump Appoints Ha Nguyen McNeill as Acting TSA Head Amid Union Dispute

Former White House official Ha Nguyen McNeill has been appointed as the acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency announced Monday. McNeill, who previously served as TSAs chief of staff...

Trump Plans Tariff Relief for U.S. Automakers Ahead of Michigan Rally

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to ease the impact of his automotive tariffs by preventing them from stacking with existing duties, such as those on steel and aluminum, according to a Wall Street Journal report....

Canadians Vote Amid Sovereignty Fears and Economic Turmoil

Canadians are casting their ballots today in a historic election shaped by soaring living costs, U.S. President Donald Trumps aggressive trade moves, and fears over national sovereignty. Months ago, Pierre Poilievres...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

Amazon Enters Satellite Internet Race with First Kuiper Deployment

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has officially entered the satellite broadband market with the successful launch of 27 operational satellites for Project Kuiper, its high-speed internet initiative aimed at rivaling SpaceXs Starlink....

Chinese AI App DeepSeek Resumes Downloads in South Korea After Privacy Update

Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek has resumed availability in South Koreas app stores after a two-month suspension due to data protection concerns. Downloads were halted in February when South Koreas Personal...

Nvidia Shares Dip as Huawei Tests Rival AI Chip

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) slipped in after-hours trading on Sunday, following reports that Chinas Huawei is testing a powerful artificial intelligence chip aimed at challenging Nvidias dominance. NVDA shares fell...

Huawei Challenges Nvidia with New Ascend 910D AI Chip Amid U.S. Export Curbs

Huawei Technologies is preparing to launch its most advanced artificial intelligence processor yet, the Ascend 910D, aiming to compete with Nvidias high-end chips, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Sample batches...

China Accelerates AI Self-Reliance Amid Nvidia H20 Chip Ban

The U.S. move to tighten export controls on Nvidias H20 chips is adding pressure to Chinas AI sector, but immediate disruption appears limited as domestic firms rapidly pivot to local alternatives. Analysts at Bernstein...