CEO Message – April

The tragedy and heartache that unfolded at Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney this month reminds us all of the fragility of life.

As Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said, “We all need to be caring for each other.”

This extends to the sick and marginalised, including those with a mental illness who are so often the focus of our own mission across Catholic healthcare.

Our thoughts are also with our friends and colleagues at St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst who worked around the clock saving lives and caring for the wounded. Their dedication was captured so eloquently by the ABC 730 Program last week.

Only this month, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park praised the role of faith-based organisations and their health providers, whom he said played a critical role in supporting the public health system.

“We can’t do what we do without them,” he said.

The role of not for profit organisations was also widely acknowledged at a recent summit in Melbourne where corporate chiefs, more often driven by profit not purpose, spoke highly of our sector.

During April, CHA has been out advocating for a range of measures ahead of next month’s federal budget, calling for more hospital in the home, improved mental health care and reforms to private health insurance.

This is on top of our advocacy work in the aged care sector, which is eagerly awaiting Budget night to learn more about the government’s response to the Aged Care Taskforce recommendations. I look forward to joining a number of CHA member aged care Executives in Parliament during Budget Week to directly question the Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, the Opposition Shadow Minister, Anne Ruston, and crossbench MPs.

We also announced the appointments of three new Directors to the CHA Board. We look forward to working closely with Francis Price, Patrick Brady and Sylvia Falzon and our entire Board to improve access to health and aged care services for all Australians.