Australian medical students implore all sides of Parliament to make stronger commitments to Australia’s future. 

“It was disappointing to observe a lack of leadership from the major parties on some of the biggest issues faced by young Australians,” said Ms Sophie Keen, President of the Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA). 

“Heavily publicised budget items such as mental health, climate change, and women’s health failed to include measures addressing the key factors driving issues in these domains. Funding appears to be directed towards ameliorating the symptomatic manifestations of these problems, rather than addressing the problems directly.

“Neither the Government nor the Opposition committed to a 2030 greenhouse emissions target of 45-65%. This goal was recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit global surface temperature increases to 1.5 degrees celsius. It is unfortunate to see the major parties have ignored calls for stronger climate action.

Following the Opposition’s budget reply, Australian medical students reacted positively to the prospect of introducing previously ignored recommendations from the Respect@Work report. 

“AMSA welcomes the Opposition’s proposal of legislating ‘positive duty’. The implementation of positive duty would be instrumental in addressing sexual harassment in the workplace by ensuring that employers are taking every opportunity to prioritise women’s safety.”

AMSA provided several recommendations in their Pre-Budget Submission to the Federal Government. These recommendations were in the areas of; medical workforce, mental health, Indigenous health, climate change, and gender equity in healthcare. 

AMSA is the peak representative body for Australia’s 17,000 medical students.