$18.1 million to improve the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ Australians - Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Nearly 80,000 older Australians are expected to dump their private health cover by the end of the decade as a result of the federal government's controversial proposed changes. The latest estimate is nearly double the 44,000 figure repeatedly cited by the federal government in defence of the policy. The proposal would wind back the rebate Australians aged 65 and over receive on their private health cover, banking about $3 billion to spend elsewhere in the aged care system. However, health department analysis released under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws reveals that while 44,000 Australians are expected to drop their cover in 2028-29 as a result of the policy, that is forecast to rise to a cumulative total of 78,000 by the following year. The Coalition said Health Minister Mark Butler had consistently used the smaller figure to defend the policy. Anne Ruston says older Australians cannot afford to live without private health insurance. (ABC News: David Sciasci)"Either he didn't read his own briefs, or he's been deliberately misleading older Australians," Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said.

Extreme heat has led to a marked increase in the risks faced by pregnant women and their babies, according to a survey of 1,000 healthcare professionals in countries including Brazil, India and Zimbabwe. The survey, commissioned by the medical research foundation Wellcome, found that 73 per cent of maternal healthcare professionals had seen an increase in heat-related complications in the past five years. More than three quarters reported an increase in harm to the fetus or newborn babies over the same period.