Latest news with #AustralianMedicalAssociation
Sydney Morning Herald
14 hours ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Purest form of fighting': Mundine launches bare knuckle boxing in Australia
'We've got their blessing. We've handed over all our paperwork, our constitution, our safety protocols,' said Joseski, a former boxing promoter. 'We've gone to the police, we've spoken to them. They've basically said, 'It's out of our jurisdiction' ' No stranger to controversy during a dual-sport career that lasted nearly 30 years, Mundine anticipates there will be resistance to the introduction of the raw and intense discipline, which has attracted large audiences in the US and UK. There was backlash to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, co-owned by UFC superstar Conor McGregor, coming to Australia. The Australian Medical Association's WA state president Michael Page called it the 'human equivalent of dog fighting' and warned against the proliferation of more sports that could cause head injuries. The state's sport minister said she saw no difference between bare knuckle boxing and UFC cage fighting, which has been held in arenas around Australia, but the WA Combat Sports Commission ultimately ruled that the McGregor-backed proposal did not meet its criteria. Mundine hopes a successful outing in Brisbane, where World Bare Knuckle Fighting is looking to draw a crowd of up to 4000, will help convince decision makers in other jurisdictions to give his bare knuckle organisation a chance. It will have a full medical team in place and has been endorsed by veteran ringside doctor Lou Lewis. He has told the Combat Sports Authority of NSW that, while there was a higher risk of hand injuries, cuts and more acute damage per punch in bare knuckle boxing, it posed less risk of brain trauma than fighting with gloves due to shorter blows and fewer repeated blows to the head. 'In my opinion, bare knuckle boxing stands as a legitimate combat sport practised globally, with established rules and regulations that prioritise the safety of its participants,' Lewis wrote in the Mundine team's application. Loading Mundine said:, 'Obviously, it's going to be bloodier because it's bare knuckle and the skin can split quite easily. It's going to look more scary, but it actually isn't. We're doing it at a professional level where the fighters train for this type of fight.' He added that wider weight divisions would also mean that fighters would not be left drained by having to lose body mass and would be better placed to absorb a blow to the head. There are plans for 10 bouts on the inaugural bare knuckle Australian card in Logan, in Brisbane's southern suburbs. Fighters are expected to include Ben Horn, the brother of former world boxing champion and Mundine opponent Jeff Horn, and NRL player turned boxer Curtis Scott. Never one not to talk a big game in his decades in the limelight, Mundine has ambitions well beyond that.
The Age
14 hours ago
- Health
- The Age
‘Purest form of fighting': Mundine launches bare knuckle boxing in Australia
'We've got their blessing. We've handed over all our paperwork, our constitution, our safety protocols,' said Joseski, a former boxing promoter. 'We've gone to the police, we've spoken to them. They've basically said, 'It's out of our jurisdiction' ' No stranger to controversy during a dual-sport career that lasted nearly 30 years, Mundine anticipates there will be resistance to the introduction of the raw and intense discipline, which has attracted large audiences in the US and UK. There was backlash to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, co-owned by UFC superstar Conor McGregor, coming to Australia. The Australian Medical Association's WA state president Michael Page called it the 'human equivalent of dog fighting' and warned against the proliferation of more sports that could cause head injuries. The state's sport minister said she saw no difference between bare knuckle boxing and UFC cage fighting, which has been held in arenas around Australia, but the WA Combat Sports Commission ultimately ruled that the McGregor-backed proposal did not meet its criteria. Mundine hopes a successful outing in Brisbane, where World Bare Knuckle Fighting is looking to draw a crowd of up to 4000, will help convince decision makers in other jurisdictions to give his bare knuckle organisation a chance. It will have a full medical team in place and has been endorsed by veteran ringside doctor Lou Lewis. He has told the Combat Sports Authority of NSW that, while there was a higher risk of hand injuries, cuts and more acute damage per punch in bare knuckle boxing, it posed less risk of brain trauma than fighting with gloves due to shorter blows and fewer repeated blows to the head. 'In my opinion, bare knuckle boxing stands as a legitimate combat sport practised globally, with established rules and regulations that prioritise the safety of its participants,' Lewis wrote in the Mundine team's application. Loading Mundine said:, 'Obviously, it's going to be bloodier because it's bare knuckle and the skin can split quite easily. It's going to look more scary, but it actually isn't. We're doing it at a professional level where the fighters train for this type of fight.' He added that wider weight divisions would also mean that fighters would not be left drained by having to lose body mass and would be better placed to absorb a blow to the head. There are plans for 10 bouts on the inaugural bare knuckle Australian card in Logan, in Brisbane's southern suburbs. Fighters are expected to include Ben Horn, the brother of former world boxing champion and Mundine opponent Jeff Horn, and NRL player turned boxer Curtis Scott. Never one not to talk a big game in his decades in the limelight, Mundine has ambitions well beyond that.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Prescriptions to be issued by WA pharmacists for asthma, ear infections under training program expansion
Pharmacists in Western Australia now have the opportunity to expand what they can prescribe in a bid to ease pressure on the state's health system. The WA government has announced the expansion of a pilot program offering further training for pharmacists, allowing them to diagnose and treat health conditions that would normally require people to visit a GP. The expanded pilot program will allow pharmacists to treat certain skin conditions, ear infections and asthma. Currently pharmacists can treat urinary tract infections, re-supply oral contraceptives and administer certain vaccines. WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat announced the program's expansion on Monday, saying it would provide people with more options to access health care. "By enhancing the skills of community pharmacists, we are reducing pressure on hospitals and GPs while giving patients safe, effective care options closer to home," Ms Hammat said in a statement. "GPs will continue to play a really important role in the healthcare system," she later told reporters on Monday. Ms Hammat said during consultation, the Australian Medical Association and the College of Royal General Practitioners had raised concerns about the program. "Our focus is on making sure the program is safe and effective," she said. The qualification will be issued by universities and is expected to take 12 months to complete, with graduates receiving a certificate in pharmaceutical prescribing.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
WA's flu season tipped to be second-worst in past decade as cases surge
It feels like every year we're told this is one of the worst flu seasons on record. But this time around, doctors really mean it. We're only part-way through July and the rate of infections is already nearing full-year figures for previous years. It's worrying experts, including the Australian Medical Association, whose president said West Australians should buckle up for a "difficult couple of weeks ahead". Professor Yuben Moodley is a professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Western Australia, and said he expected this year to be the second-worst flu season in the last decade. "The virus evolves and mutates every flu season and the aim of the virus is to avoid our immune response and to then infect cells more efficiently," he said. "There's certain times and certain flu strains which are more effective in doing that than others. That does not necessarily mean the flu is getting more severe, however. "What happens though is that we have an increasing ageing population who are becoming more susceptible to the flu," Professor Moodley said. "The flu in a young, healthy person is not going to have major consequences, but if you have much more aged people, it certainly will result in more hospitalisations than previously. "So an increase in the ageing population will result in increased presentations to the doctor or to hospital." It comes as national data showed a 50 per cent increase in hospital admissions over a fortnightly period due to the winter surge. Those increased presentations have been blamed for increased pressure on hospitals, as shown by ambulance ramping figures. Ambulances are considered "ramped" when they spend more than half-an-hour waiting outside a hospital to hand over a patient. The average hours paramedics have spent ramped each day has been increasing significantly in WA since May, and is currently sitting just shy of records set at the peak of the pandemic. Premier Roger Cook said it was not surprising the system would be under pressure at this time of year. He also denied St John Ambulance struggling to meet its response time targets showed there needed to be extra capacity in the health system. "We need to make sure that we deploy taxpayers' funds in an efficient manner, so you don't want to have too much extra capacity, you don't want to have too little extra capacity," he said. "It's a matter of balance. "But [the system's] performing well … and we'll continue to look at how we can improve hospital services." Cook's view is in stark contrast to medical groups, including the Australian Medical Association, who suggest the state is at least 1,000 hospital beds short of being able to meet demand. "While demand on our hospitals is high, it is being managed and pausing elective surgeries is not something that is being considered," Health Minister Meredith Hammat said during the week. Compounding issues is that WA's flu season started earlier than usual. "This year in particularly, possibly because of increased travel over the last six months, we have seen a worse flu season earlier than we expected," WA Health Director General Shirley Bowen told budget estimates earlier in July. "Normally in Western Australia we might see a flu peak in July, August or September, often more in the August period. "This year we saw new cases in January. That is sort of an overflow from the situation in the UK and Europe." The solutions, of course, seem simple: vaccination and staying home when sick. Actually getting people to do either of those things is much more difficult. Western Australia's flu vaccine coverage was 25.4 per cent at the end of June — one per cent behind the national average and tied for second-last with Queensland. Asked on Friday if she was happy with the uptake of the vaccine, Seniors Minister Simone McGurk would only the say the government was "sending a very, very strong message that we want people to be vaccinated" by making it free. Professor Moodley thinks more needs to be done. "I think it is important to address vaccine scepticism a little more strongly,"he said. "Perhaps we can actually improve our outreach to people and to educate people better. Preventative Health Minister Sabine Winton said earlier this month apathy was an issue. "I am told the rate is about two per cent better than the case last year," she said. "I do not want anyone to be complacent. We need to be doing much better than that to really have an even better impact on keeping people healthy and out of hospitals." Like anything in health, that's likely to be expensive and take a long time. It means at this stage, as cases continue to grow, there's little to do but stick to the basics and manage the pressures that result.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bold push for new tax on soft drink, juices
A sugar tax on soft drink, sweetened juice and cordial is being backed as a way to reduce soaring rates of obesity and diabetes. Coinciding with National Diabetes Week, the Australian Medical Association has called for a new tax at a rate of 50c per 100g of added sugar, to be paid by beverage manufacturers. Under the proposal, a standard 375mL of full-sugar Coke with 39.8g of sugar would incur a tax of 19.9c, while a 600mL bottle of Berry Ice Powerade would be hit with a 17.8c levy for its 34.8g of sugar. Macarthur MP Michael Freelander, who is also a practising pediatrician, said a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages would encourage companies to put less sugar in drinks, however a tax should be considered alongside of broader education measures. 'I think that we owe it to the next generation to try and make sure they are healthier than our generation,' he told NewsWire. 'And what we're now seeing is children presenting with obesity and with type two diabetes. And we should not be seeing that.' In 2024, costings released by the Parliamentary Budget Office and requested by Dr Freelander found a 20 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would boost revenue by more than $1.3bn in two years, however he said any policies should be trialled before further implementation. Dr Freelander stressed education was the best way to improve public health outcomes. These included town planning to ensure children could walk to schools and shopping centres and not fast food outlets, plus increased access to healthy food, like subsidies on 'certain forms of food'. 'We do now see lots of societal changes that are causing health problems and one of the issues is the access to highly processed foods,' he said. 'So it's not just about drinks, it's also about making people aware of the dangers of high calorie highly-processed foods.' The Australian Medical Association have renewed calls for a sugar tax on sweetened drinks like soft drink, juice and cordials. AMA Vice President Julian Rait said the sugar tax was the 'best chance' or reducing rates of obesity and chronic disease like type 2 diabetes. He said the proposal would drive down consumption by 2kg per person and increase the budget bottomline by $3.6bn which could be 'invested in other crucial preventive health measures'. He added that more than 100 jurisdictions have implemented a sugar tax, like the UK, France, Mexico and Ireland. 'For people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, reducing sugar intake through swaps like drinking water over soft drinks can make a profound difference to their long-term health,' he said. 'Last year it was revealed the sugar content in popular soft drink Fanta had increased by 60 per cent, despite industry assurances that sugary drinks were being reformulated.' Health Minister Mark Butler said Labor had ruled out a potential levy or tax, and said the government's priorities were on 'front-of-pack labelling' and working with companies to reduce the amount of sugar in foods. 'There is no plan in our government for a sugar tax. We're instead focusing on education and also working with food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar that they put into their products,' he said in late May after the federal election. As it stands, health labels are administered by the Health Star Rating system which companies can voluntarily adhere to. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
