The John Deeble Lecture and Panel Discussion

John Deeble Lecture

Often dubbed ‘the father of Medicare’, Professor John Deeble was a conceiver, implementer and defender of universal healthcare for nearly 50 years. The John Deeble Lecture has been established by the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association to commemorate John's life and achievements as a distinguished scholar, health economist and health policy leader.

This annual lecture, presented by AHHA, is aimed at public sector leaders and executives, health executives and academics.

John Deeble Lecture and Panel Discussion - 2019

In the inaugural John Deeble lecture, Professor Nigel Edwards, CEO Nuffield Trust, considered some of the more common dysfunctions in policy formation and implementation and the reasons why good policy goes bad. Nigel also offered possible solutions to these issues, including how policy makers, researchers and managers can develop more productive ways of working together. 

The Lecture was followed by a panel discussion reflecting on the complexities of the health system and the way we manage and set health policy in Australia. Members of the panel included Professor Ian Frazer (Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland), the Hon Nicola Roxon (Chair HESTA), Mr Romlie Mokak (Commissioner, Productivity Commission) and moderator Professor Johanna Westbrook (Director Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research Macquarie University).