The Latest Breaking News from Mark Butler

Rules should be tightened to stop ‘unjustifiably partisan’ grants programs such as car park rorts, review finds

Audit committee calls for crackdown on politicised funding schemes following controversy over urban congestion and building better regions funds

The Guardian - AU · Jun 29, 2023

Wider screening for rare health conditions in babies

Newborns will be tested for a wider range of rare health conditions in a promised overhaul that also seeks to iron out differences in screening between states.

AAP · Jun 28, 2023

'The dirty disease' – both smokers and non-smokers get lung cancer. They face stigma on top of illness

Earlier this year, federal health minister Mark Butler announced a new national Lung Cancer Screening Program. The first of its kind for lung cancer, the screening program will open initially to current and former smokers aged 50 to 70 years by July 2025. It aims to save lives by detecting…

The Conversation · Jun 27, 2023

MP denies quid pro quo over COVID-19 jab for donor

The federal health minister has accused Liberal MP Warren Enstch of allowing a wealthy donor to use a COVID-19 vaccine dose intended for Indigenous people.

AAP · Jun 19, 2023

'It's not enough': Life-saving mental health program gets funding lifeline

The long-term future of the evidence-backed intervention is still uncertain.

The Canberra Times · Jun 14, 2023

Allegations of abuse at centre accused of ‘extreme religious practices’ raised in WA before Coalition’s $4m grant

Exclusive: State officials heard claims about Esther Foundation in 2018 before Scott Morrison announced funding in 2019, inquiry told

The Guardian - AU · Jun 10, 2023

Labor’s new grant category proposal criticised by legal experts as ‘retrograde step’

Awarding grants for explicit decisions of government risks ‘entrenching a system of permissible pork-barrelling’, barrister says

The Guardian - AU · Jun 8, 2023

Albanese government looks to revive $5m grant made under Coalition government against legal advice

Rowing facilities project in Albert Park, Victoria is part of Morrison-era grants that are currently being reviewed after the Albanese government’s election

The Guardian - AU · Jun 8, 2023

Alcohol industry lobbyists misrepresented evidence in bid to influence Australian policy, study finds

Industry submissions on harm reduction plan at times misused evidence, academics say, but health minister says there’s ‘no suggestion’ the strategy was influenced

The Guardian - AU · Jun 6, 2023

National audit office releases scathing report of Morrison-government health funding program

A review into a Morrison-government-era grant funding program finds only two of 171 projects attached to the program were "highly suitable" and almost half were based in marginal electorates.

ABC News · Jun 5, 2023