Upcoming Events

 
RALLY

Date: Friday 13th of February
Time: Midday
Where: STATE LIBRARY, Cnr Swanston & LaTrobe st.- Melbourne

All welcome to this DEFEND AND EXTEND MEDICARE rally. Spread the word and bring banners. Please feel free to contact one of our spokespersons if you would like more details or want to pledge support.

 
Complaint to Austrlia Press Council

Dear Australian Press Council/Complaints Division,

I’d like to submit a formal complaint regarding articles written by Mr. Keith MOOR and Mr. Charles MIRANDA that appeared in Melbourne’s Herald Sun on Friday the 5th December, Saturday the 6th December and Monday the 9th December 2003. (Articles included)

Defend and Extend Medicare – Australia is currently seeking advice re: legal action regarding possible defamatory statements in the articles. We are also seeking legal advice about what could possibly be the illegal use of intelligence material by the Federal Health Minister’s office. Mr. Keith MOOR and Mr. Charles MIRANDA state in their article published on Friday December the 5th that “A senior intelligence official recently briefed the Herald Sun about the activities of DEMG”. This statement raises important ethical and moral questions about the relationship between government, the State’s intelligence agencies and privately owned news outlets. Read more >>>

 
Herald Sun denies right of reply

The Herald Sun has denied the right of reply to Defend and Extend Medicare. Read the Herald Suns reply in the 'Post Script' section at the bottom of the linked page.

 
Press Conference Call

TIME: MIDDAY
DATE: SATURDAY 13TH DECEMBER, 2003
TOPIC: DEFEND AND EXTEND MEDICARE
VENUE: FORECOURT STATE LIBRARY VICTORIA
(cnr Latrobe and Swanston St, Melbourne)

ABBOTT DOWN FOR THE COUNT

The Federal government is so concerned about the influence that Defend and Extend Medicare – Australia is having on the health care debate, it’s launched an investigation into its membership and office holders. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating the group and setting the countries intelligence agencies on the group, it has come up with virtually nothing. Abbott’s office passed on files on group members and supporters to the Herald Sun. It also organized for the Herald Sun to have direct access to intelligence officers who conducted the investigation and continue to monitor the group’s activity.Read more >>>

 
Reply to Herald Sun's attacks

Over three days the Herald Sun released articles attacking the Defend and Extend Medicare group. Below there is a reply to the accusation made in the Herald Sun and links to the articles.

Friday 5/12/03 Government accuses DEMG of having anarchist agenda
Saturday 6/12/03 Health activists on file
Monday 8/12/03 Activists reject 'extreme' tag

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE MESSAGE, SHOOT THE MESSENGER

The extra-ordinary attack that’s being launched against Defend and Extend Medicare- Australia, in Melbourne’s Herald Sun (5&6/12) indicates that our campaign is hurting the Federal Government’s plans to destroy Medicare.

The article included many statements that were factually incorrect. They also made a number of allegations that could land both the Herald Sun and Tony Abbott in court. Tony Abbott the Federal Health Minister, has badly miscalculated by airing these allegations outside coward’s castle (parliament).

The Herald Sun’s editorial team and reporters that put together these articles could find that their boss, Rupert Murdoch may not be too happy about helping to finance the retirement plans of many of the activists mentioned in the article. Over the next few months it’s likely that the courts and the Australian press council could be dealing with this matter. Read more >>>

 
Watch This Space

Abott down for the count

The Herald Sun has come out with a confusing smear attack on the Defend and Extend Medicare group.

The article in Friday's Herald Sun (5/12/03) shows that Abbott is running scared. It is now a crime in this country to advocate a universal health scheme. Abbott has unleashed the country's intelligence watchdogs to spy on Australians who believe access to health care should be a right not a charity or a luxury.

Log on, Monday to read a detailed expose of the government's agenda to destroy anyone in opposition to their policies.

Of concern in the article is:

- There is an accusation of 'hijacking the health debate' by the group as a front for other activities.

- However this 'hijacking' is based on nothing except the asserted members beliefs and association and not any witnessed activities (ie funnelling funds to a secondary group, or encouraging people to join other organisations)

- The implication that Australian unions supporting the group, who represent a very large percentage of regular Australians, are extremists.

- The group appears to be under direct high level, publicly funded, ministerial surveillance. This surveillance would be a waste of tax money considering it is focussed at a group that simply stands for universal access to healthcare.

Why is there any need for a probing government investigation? Isn't a government that pays public servants to investigate protesting citizen's personal beliefs and associations a bad thing?

- The Herald Sun seems to be have pretended to do an investigation when they are just directly passing on information from the government.

They also say that an internal government surveillance reports has 'been obtained' but also say that they were directly briefed by a 'senior intelligence office'. Surely this only indicates that the information is just being given to the Herald Sun for party political purposes.

Link to the Herald Sun's article:

http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8069072%255E2862,00.html

 
New Article

Dial M for Murder
The introduction of a differential Medicare rebate between concession card holders, children under sixteen and other Australians, on the 1st of February 2004, by the Howard government, marks the end of Medicare as a universal health care system.

The idea that access to the health care delivery system was a right enjoyed by all Australians irrespective of how much they earned, where they lived and the severity and type of health problems they had, has been destroyed by the introduction of a differential rebate. Read more >>>

 
New Article

Ho!! Ho!! Ho!! - Merry Christmas
After finishing off another 10-hour day seeing patients, I like many other of my colleagues, dream about a sea change. Maybe I was day dreaming or maybe, aliens had beamed me up onto their spacecraft, but I have distinct memories of seeing Tony Abbott dressed in a Santa suit and John Howard strutting his stuff as a good elf. They were prattling on about the MedicarePlus package around which they were wrapping pretty paper and a bow. The MedicarePlus package was their Christmas present to the Australian people. Tony Abbott was concerned the Chrissy present didn’t have any warranty, John Howard told him not to worry because most people expect all those whiz bang presents they are given for Christmas to break down before the holidays are over. Read more >>>