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Advocacy in Action
October 2013
Issue 14
Public Health is not a great career option for
those who want to earn vast amounts, or roles
where a comfortable 10-4 working routine will
enable all the work that is needed to be done.
Public health, as it should be done, is always
likely to be challenging. We are dealing with
difficult – sometimes apparently intractable –
problems; we face opposition from a range of
quarters, and our work is always under-
resourced. There is also often a bewildering
failure to understand the importance of
prevention and public health – perhaps best
encapsulated by Queensland Premiers
Campbell Newman’s assertion that the
“frontline’ workers to be protected from budget
cuts were defined as those with 75% or more
patient contact.
But public health also has a long and proud
history in Western Australia, the first 150 years
beautifully encapsulated in Dudley Snow’s
book, “The Progress of Public Health in
Western Australia, 1829-1977”. The
importance of public health was recognised
from the very earliest days, as it must be now –
but concerned to promote and improved public
health now face, in Peter Draper’s phrase, not
only “pollution of the drinking water”, but
“pollution of the thinking water”.
We have learned over the years that at times
of crisis public health rises to the occasion:
and at other times it is vital that we work
Welcome from Professor Mike Daube, Director of PHAIWA
together to ensure proper recognition of all the
different roles in public health, from day-to-day
environmental health activity that ensures a
safe environment with safe food and water to
delivery of programs to research to advocacy.
PHAIWA aims to ensure a healthier and better
informed community, a strong and well-
supported public health workforce, a
continuing focus on key public health priorities
in government and elsewhere, a commitment
to supporting the disadvantaged, and a
collegial approach to public health. The
reports in this newsletter show the breadth of
programs and areas in which we and our
colleagues are able to work, and that we have
much to learn and contribute not only within
the state, but nationally and internationally.
Whatever the challenges, there are always
exciting times ahead in public health, and it is
especially encouraging that so many younger
health professionals are interested and active
in advocacy activities. As the year ends, this is
an appropriate time for me to thank my
colleagues in PHAIWA and elsewhere for the
outstanding work they do, on minimal
resources, covering an enormous range of
issues and activities. We are also grateful to
those who support our aims and work with us
across the state.
Mike Daube
Please consider the environment before printing this newsletter
Andrea Boss and Melissa Stoneham from PHAIWA were among the 30 or so people who gathered in Melbourne on Friday 13 September to discuss the process for developing the future agenda for injury prevention. Hosted by Monash University and convened by the PHAA Injury SIG, the group of professionals discussed challenging issues such as how to place injury prevention firmly on the national agenda, whether a national policy is needed and finding the balance between the how, what and by when. A follow up meeting focusing on safe communities is being held after the 11th Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference in November in Fremantle.
Page 2 Issue 14
New Environmental Health Books released by Meta Maya
PHAIWA attends the Inaugural Planning the Future of Injury Prevention
in Australia
Four new environmental health books have
been released by Pilbara Meta Maya Aboriginal
Corporation, based in South Hedland.
Produced by Aboriginal Health Workers based
at Mata Maya and the Combined Universities
Centre for Rural Health, these books focus on
many issues including dogs, environmental
hygiene, personal hygiene, pests, refuse,
sewage, food hygiene and car bodies. The
books cover four communities including
Goodabinya, Punmu, Warralong and Nyungu
Ngalyapa Nganyjurruku Yandeyarra.
The aim of the books is to educate and
empower people in reducing many
environmental health issues that occur in their
homes and communities. Each community
identified their environmental health issues and
decided what the solutions to address these
issues should be. These books were funded by
a range of organisations including the Office of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heath,
CUCRH, Pilbara Meta Maya, Traditional Elders
and community members from Warralong,
Greg McConkey from Empower Education and
the Department of Health, Environmental
Health Directorate.
Delegates at the Melbourne workshop Michael Moore – CEO of PHAA welcomes participants
Page 3 Issue 14
PHAIWA’s New Toolkit for Public Health Professionals-3rd Edition
The third edition of the toolkit, Advocacy in Action: A
toolkit for Public Health Professionals was recently
published with a brand new look and updated
information.
The toolkit has been updated to include; e-advocacy,
fresh case studies and profiles of new community
champions.
These toolkits are used in our advocacy training
workshops and are a great resource for those who
would like to increase their advocacy skills.
The toolkit is available online at:
http://www.phaiwa.org.au/your-voice-mainmenu-
67/the-advocacy-toolkit
If you would like a hardcopy of the toolkit please
contact PHAIWA at [email protected]
Tobacco Advocacy Training
PHAIWA recently conducted advocacy training for Tobacco Action Workers and Tobacco
Regional Co-ordinators, who are generally employed under the Tackling Indigenous Smoking
Initiative from around the state. Attendees came from all over WA including Albany and Broome
and across the metropolitan area.
Special guest speakers included journalist Paul Jarvis who discussed the importance of building
relations with local journalists and producer/presenter Pieta O’Shaughnessy who shared her
wealth of knowledge and skills in radio interviewing.
Journalist Paul Jarvis Attendees
PHAIWA held a presentation at the Health Consumers’ Council on September 5, 2013. This provided
an introduction to public health advocacy and working with the media and politicians, with our
Director, Mike Daube, providing many examples of real-life public health advocacy from his previous
work as Director-General, anti-tobacco campaigner, and current role as an advocate for a range of
public health issues.
The presentation was part of PHAIWA’s capacity-building program which provides tools, resources
and skills to organisations and individuals to improve their ability to achieve effective advocacy. We
use traditional and innovative methods of delivery, and are also able to tailor training and professional
development to suit groups and organisations. For organisations wishing to run some advocacy
training, please download the expression of interest form from our website
(http://www.phaiwa.org.au/2012-06-07-12-59-25/professional-development-and-capacity-building) or
contact Emily O'Connell on [email protected] or phone 9266 1544.
Page 4 Issue 14
Update on the 2013 PHAIWA Online E-Advocacy Mentoring Program
Community Advocacy, and Working with the Media and Politicians:
Professional Development with the Health Consumers’ Council
The PHAIWA online e-advocacy mentoring
program is now underway with a total of 34 new
mentees. This year we have mentees from all
over the state, including 5 from the Mid West, 2
from the Great Southern, 1 from the Goldfields, 1
from the Kimberley and 2 professionals who work
across the State. Mentees have come from local
government, state government, NGOs and NFPs,
Medicare Local Offices and private industry.
Mentees have now established mentoring
relationships with their mentors who are keen to
assist in the promotion and transfer of advocacy
skills to these WA public and allied health
professionals. Monthly activities are released on
the mentee blog website, with all participants
encouraged to post comments about the specific
activities, as well as any public health advocacy
issues they may have come across in their work
or in the media. Future activities include
conducting a review of an advocacy organisation,
drafting a media release, and contributing poll
questions which may be used on the PHAIWA
website for advocacy purposes.
PHAIWA is keen to develop and nurture the
expertise of individuals and groups working within
health promotion, public health and sectors
external to health, to ensure that high quality,
innovative and effective advocacy leadership
continues in WA. We look forward to showcasing
our mentees throughout the newsletters over the
coming 12 months. If you would like more
information about this program, please contact
Emily on [email protected] or visit
our website.
PHAIWA is hosting its next Opinion Piece
Seminar on Thursday November 21, 2013 from
9.30am-10.30am.
The speakers are; Catherine Walker-National
Manager Tastelife at Compass Group, Toyah
Tinworth – Healthy Communities Coordinator at
City of Wanneroo & Simon Pham, Coordinator
Safety Quality & Performance at North Metro
Health Service, Department of Health.
The PHAIWA series of Opinion Pieces feature
emerging public health practitioners who are
ideally placed to contribute to the debate around
the future of public health, policy and advocacy.
These Opinion Piece Seminars provide a greater
diversity of perspectives and ideas, from people
who often do not have the opportunity to be
heard.
Further information is available by contacting
E m i l y O ’ C o n n e l l b y e m a i l o n
[email protected] or phone 9266
1544.
Save the Date!
Page 5 Issue 14
PHAIWA and Department of Health fund “SKEG BITE”
Key points:
In the MR region, 60% of surf related
injuries are caused by the surfers own
board
Of these, 95% of the boards had hard
sharp fins and an unprotected pointy nose
98% of injured surfers were not wearing a
helmet
Most injuries occur in a small to medium
swell around midday
The most common injuries are lacerations
to the head and face requiring stitches
Skeg Bite on the big screen!
In 2010, Silentsurfer wrote on Facebook:
“So last week I paddled out - My ¹skeg got a piece of me. D'oh! 5 stitches haha on my hip - now that’s a skeg bite.”
On Friday 6th September 2013, PHAIWA and the Department of Health were proud to attend the launch of the youth produced film "Skeg Bite" which premiered at the Margaret River Cultural Centre. This film was funded through the PHAIWA local government injury prevention grants and highlights the type, severity and incidence of surfing related injuries. The Shire of Margaret River-Augusta Youth Advisory Committee produced the film, with key credits to Jake Graebner-Bond and Taj Kilpin.
The evening was attended by around 150 people. It was a semi-formal night with red carpet entry, live entertainment and nibbles. PHAIWA was well represented by Melissa Stoneham, Andrea Boss and Terry Pikora, while Erica Davison represented the Department of Health. We are pictured below with the key drivers of the project from the Shire including Gene Hardy (Snr Communi ty Development; 2005 World Belly Board Champ), Jake, Ella Sleegers and Taj.
¹A skeg is a fin underneath the rear of a surfboard.
(L to R): Jake Graebner-Bond, Ella Sleegers,
Melissa & Andrea (PHAIWA), Gene Hardy and Erin
Statz
I was fortunate to attend and present a couple of papers at the International Union of Health
Promotion and Education Conference held in Pattaya from the 25-29 August 2013. Pattaya lies
south of Bangkok and is built around Ao Pattaya, a wide crescent-shaped bay that was one of
Thailand’s first beach resorts in the 1960s.
The 21st conference of the IUHPE was the first to be held in a middle to lower income country
and Thailand did an amazing job of welcoming the 2200 conference delegates. The conference
theme was best investments for health and it aimed to contribute to the development of equity
and social justice across the globe by offering a unique platform for dialogue between participants
from various sectors from all over the world. Interestingly, one of the conference
recommendations was to move the debate about health promotion being perceived as a cost, to
one where it is viewed as an investment.
PEACH, the conference centre was jam packed with trade displays, posters, additional meetings,
flash mobs, stalls and conference rooms. With over 1400 papers, there was a large selection of
topics to hear about – in fact I think the selection
was too broad because I often wanted to be in
two or three places at the same time. It truly was
an international conference with papers and
posters from many countries around the world,
and a team of around 12 translators.
The social program and integration of physical
activity opportunities into the program were
appreciated and fun. The Thai night showcased
cultural activities, norms and foods from all parts
of the country. I think most people loved the fresh
mango and sticky rice! It was pleasing to see that
this was an alcohol free conference.
Page 6 Issue 14
Wrap up of the IUHPE conference in Pattaya Thailand
By Melissa Stoneham
Some of the inspiring keynotes included Dr Sania Nishtar who is founder of many health
institutions in Pakistan, the author of Pakistan’s first health reform plan, the country’s first
compendium of health statistics, and its first national plan for NCDs. She is also the Minister for
Education and Training, Science and Technology and Information Technology with the Pakistan
government and discussed how the best investments for health often came from outside the
health sector.
Page 7 Issue 14
Wrap up of the IUHPE conference in Pattaya Thailand (continued)
Dasho Karma Ura from Bhutan spoke on how the
country developed and monitors the Gross National
Happiness. Dasho is the president of the Centre for
Bhutan Studies (CBS) and has been at the forefront
in promoting and deepening national and global
understanding of Bhutan's home-grown
development philosophy of Gross National
Happiness and conducting multidisciplinary
research about Bhutan. He received a round of
applause when he advised that he sale of tobacco is
banned in Bhutan and that currently 21 people are
serving a 2 year sentence for illegally importing
tobacco.
Dr Jose Vargas Vidot from Puerto Rico spoke with
passion. He spoke of his efforts in helping the less
fortunate and has told stories of drug addicts and
HIV patients and the many struggles they fight in
order to get the government to give clean syringes
and stop the spread of disease. He spoke of the
disconnect between the heart and brain – his view
was that many health professionals are too
concerned with the next publication or grant and
less about people. He told the delegates that the
heart and brain were only 8 inches apart, but rarely
met, saying it seemed easier to travel to Iceland
than make the synergy between these two parts of
the human anatomy!
There were many Australians at the conference – in
fact we were the third largest delegation after
Thailand and Japan. The Australian papers, or at
least ones I was fortunate to see, were of high
standard and addressed a multitude of issues –
using highly innovative strategies.
But it wasn’t all work – we did have a chance to look around Pattaya. Synonymous with
prostitution, Pattaya is unapologetic about its bread-and-butter industry. The city is packed with
go-go clubs, massage parlours and girlie bars. The crew from WA ventured into the famous
“Walking Street” a couple of times to see the sights as shown below, and we also managed to test
some of the local foods and drinks at the beach bar. Overall, it was a great week – inspiring
program, lovely surroundings, the reuniting of friends and colleagues as well as the creation of
new friendships, fantastic food and hot, balmy weather…who could ask for more? Well done
Thailand.
Page 8 Issue 14
Wrap up of the IUHPE conference in Pattaya Thailand (continued)
WA Conference Delegates head down town (left),
Conference hotel (above)
Advocacy was a key theme in many presentations – although many practitioners are involved in
advocacy it was made clear by one of the conference rapporteurs, Richard Parish, that there is a
need for better targeted advocacy as well as a need to increase skills in advocacy. It was
opportunistic that while attending the conference, the Thai government was being sued by Phillip
Morris for their attempts at plain packaging, where 85% of the cigarette box will be taken up with a
health warning (including a photo). A petition was circulated at the conference and over 700
signatures were collected. Below is a photo of the front page of the Bangkok Post on the last day
of the conference as well as the cigarette packet photos.
Page 9 Issue 14
Local Government Tobacco Control Grants Scheme
The third and possibly final round of funding for the Tobacco Control Grants
Scheme is well and truly underway with 25 submissions being received up
until this stage of the project. So far all applications have been approved
for funding. The third round will close on Friday 29 November 2013. We
cannot confirm whether more funding rounds will be available so we strongly encourage all Local
Governments to consider submitting an application before the end of November. Below is a list of the
successful applicants so far and a brief description of each project.
LGA Project Description
Albany Making the Albany Agricultural Show smokefree and installing a City of Albany Environmental Health stall at the event. Also rectifying no smoking signage at applicable outdoor public spaces.
Armadale Holding six weekly scooter focused workshops with a smokefree theme. New no smoking signage to be installed at the skate park.
Ashburton Installing new no smoking signs in prominent public spaces that also encourage smokers to bin their butts.
Cambridge Making the Quarry Amphitheatre a smokefree venue. Includes no smoking signage installation and safety voice over message.
Capel Installing no smoking signage at ten outdoor playground sites.
Carnarvon Young people are painting a no smoking mural on the back of the grandstand at the Carnarvon sporting precinct to remind people that all sports events are smokefree.
Chittering Creating no smoking areas by installing no smoking signs in communal outdoor areas at 18 prominent public locations. Designated smoking areas with butt out bins will also be erected away from the no smoking areas.
Corrigin Purchasing ten portable flag signs to signify no smoking areas or no smoking events.
Derby-West Kimberley Installing 21 no smoking signs at various outdoor locations.
Esperance Painting four no smoking murals in prominent public locations.
Geraldton Installing signage to be placed in identified targeted areas. Launching several smoke free awareness community events targeting whole community and youth. Conducting educational sessions with students to raise awareness about the harms associated with tobacco smoking.
Kellerberrin Erecting 8 no smoking signs within Centennial Park Community Space.
Kondinin Purchasing ten portable flag signs to signify no smoking areas or no smoking events.
Kulin Purchasing ten portable flag signs to signify no smoking areas or no smoking events.
Kwinana Installing 14 no smoking totem signage poles at a number of children’s playgrounds.
Mandurah Installing 14 no smoking totem signage poles at a number of children’s playgrounds.
Moora Installing four new shade sails and several signs all with no smoking.
Morawa Developing a photography slideshow by children to be displayed during Drug Action Week and at future related events and school classes.
Narembeen Purchasing 10 teardrop flags and inflatable start/finish line with no smoking messages to be displayed at sporting events.
Perth Install signage around Forrest Place, Murray Street and Hay Street malls to promote their new Smoke Free Malls policy.
If you would like to find out more please contact Dr Melissa Stoneham or James Stevens-Cutler
or visit the project website to download your application form here:
http://www.phaiwa.org.au/other-projects-mainmenu-146/local-government-report-card-project
Local Government Tobacco Control Grants Scheme (continued)
Port Hedland Implementing no smoking signs at all sporting facilities and grounds as well as
stencilled no smoking signs stencilled on gutters and in car park at entry to
sporting venues and facilities.
Roebourne Assisting businesses with outdoor eating areas to comply or remain compliant with the Tobacco Products Control Act 2006 (Act) and Tobacco Products Control Regulations 2006 (Regulations).
Vincent Creating ‘Social Smoking’ posters and stickers which will be distributed to
licensed premises to display in smoking areas and on cigarette vending
machines.
Warmun No smoking artwork developed by local artists will be displayed on signs located at four smokefree community areas.
York Installing 13 butt out bins adjacent to commercial alfresco eating areas with signage indicating no smoking in outdoor eating areas.
Entries have closed for the third edition of the Report Card Project. This year we are extremely
pleased to have had applications from 20 Local Governments, surpassing the 19 and 15 entrants
we had in 2011 and 2012 respectively. A list of the participating councils can be found below.
Children’s Environment & Health Local Government Report Card Project
City of Bayswater City of Belmont
City of Bunbury Shire of Chapman Valley
City of Cockburn Shire of Coolgardie
Shire of Cranbrook Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup
City of Joondalup Shire of Kalamunda
City of Kwinana City of Nedlands
City of Perth Shire of Plantagenet
City of Rockingham Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale
City of Stirling City of Subiaco
City of Swan Shire of Westonia
Submissions are now being evaluated and preliminary results should be released in mid-
November ahead of the Presentations Morning which will take place on Monday November 25. If
you would like to find out more about this project or to express interest in attending the
Presentations Morning please contact James Stevens-Cutler at james.stevens-
[email protected] or visit the project website: http://www.phaiwa.org.au/other-projects-
mainmenu-146/local-government-report-card-project.
Issue 14 Page 10
Page 11 Issue 14
Opinion Piece Seminar 8- “How is Marketing Contributing to the Obesity
Epidemic?”
In the current climate of rising obesity rates, the focus of PHAIWA’s 8th Opinion Piece Seminar was on
the role and influence of marketing and its contribution to the obesity epidemic. The Seminar was held
on Friday 16 August 2013 and featured three emerging Western Australian public health professionals;
Jodie Hurd from Diabetes WA, Jake Johnson from the City of Perth and Sokunthea Kruy from
PHAIWA. Our presenter’s offered their perspective on the question, “How is marketing contributing to
the obesity epidemic?
Our first speaker, PHAIWA’s Sokunthea Kruy, spoke on the role of Social Media in marketing, which is
the most prolific medium used by the major junk food companies such as McDonald’s and KFC. She
provided several alarming statistics about how frequently (hourly) these corporations bombard their
Twitter and Facebook followers with clever, visually appealing advertising and also link celebrities to
their products for maximum impact. Sokunthea explained that social media is the most popular way for
marketers to endorse their products in the digital era as it’s quick, cost-effective and extremely easy to
ensure that junk food advertising is constantly visible on followers’ news feeds.
Sokunthea believes that staying aware of emerging trends in social media marketing, exploring
regulations on junk food marketing on the internet and encouraging healthy statements that are
equally as available, relatable and accessible to users, are just some of the measures to help combat
the prevalence and influence of junk food marketing.
Jodie Hurd from Diabetes WA, dressed in her Hungry Jacks sponsored football guernsey, discussed
the big business of food marketing and delivered explicit examples showing how advertising spends
translate into sales.
She illustrated the different approaches junk food companies use to market their products to young
people, including online marketing, outdoor advertising, sponsorship and unhealthy fundraising in
schools.
Jodie’s presentation identified evidence suggesting food advertising both causes childhood obesity and also supports and maintains unhealthy behaviours.
Her solutions were to limit children’s exposure to marketing of energy dense foods and to implement policies to decrease the visibility of less healthy foods. She suggested a move away from self-regulation, restricting toys and gifts with purchases, restricting ‘bundles’ and ‘upsizing’ and implementing restrictions on the prevalence of sports sponsorship and use of sporting role models. Jodie also proposed that junk food is made more expensive and difficult to access in order to discourage consumption, and espoused the value of community action (ie: consumer outrage) to entice policy change. Jodie believes that public health advocates, particularly NGOs in the advocacy space, need to work in partnership with consumers to help turn the tide.
Jake Johnson from the City of Perth challenged the perspective that marketing is only used for ‘evil’
purposes. He suggested that social marketing is an effective intervention method to tackle obesity and
cited examples of how it can be used to change consumer behaviour. Referring to Healthway’s
Sponsorship of Perth Glory to illustrate his argument, Jake provided statistics to suggest people
attending Healthway sponsored events comprehended and accepted the healthy lifestyle messages
and further, many indicated their intention to act on those messages. Jake also cited The Heart
Foundation’s LiveLighter Campaign who has built a successful public education campaign to improve
the health of Western Australian adults. Jake believes as public health advocates, we need to fight the
marketers at their own game and utilise the power of social media campaigns to get prevalent health
message into the public realm.
The 60 people who attended PHAIWA’s Opinion Piece learnt that marketing does play a crucial role in both raising awareness about unhealthy lifestyles and contributing to obesity.
The seminar offered unique perspectives from three young public health advocates whose contributions sparked a lively debate on so lut ion based approaches to stem the effect and power of marketing.
The overarching message of the day was that as public health professionals, we can all play a part in increasing our advocacy efforts in this area, particularly when it comes to the marketing of junk food to children.
Page 12 Issue 14
Environmental Health Australia’s 38th National Conference
Opinion Piece Seminar 8-“How is Marketing Contributing to the Obesity
Epidemic?” (continued)
Several of PHAIWA’s staff attended Environmenta l Health Australia’s 38th National Conference recently at the Parmelia Hilton in Perth to exhibit our work and listen to the many speakers discussing solutions proposed to address environmental health issues.
The theme for the conference was ‘Striking the Balance’ which highlighted the many factors and influences that need to be weighed up and balanced in making decisions and taking actions for our health and our environment as well as our future.
PHAIWA’s trade exhibitor booth at the Conference
(L-R) Jodie Hurd, Sokunthea Kruy, Jake Johnson
PHAIWA’s Director Professor Mike Daube addresses the
audience
Page 13 Issue 14
Strong Community Support for Action on Alcohol
In June 2013, the McCusker Centre for Action
on Alcohol and Youth and the Foundation for
Alcohol Research and Education (FARE)
commissioned an independent national survey
of 1,114 Australians about attitudes towards
alcohol and support for action to prevent
alcohol related harm. The results are in and
they show that:
94% of Australians are concerned about
alcohol-related violence
94% are concerned about alcohol use
among young people
Only 17% think that governments are
doing enough to prevent alcohol-related
harm
72% support legal controls to reduce
young people’s exposure to alcohol
advertising, with only 7% opposed.
Surveys conducted in April and November
2012 commissioned by the McCusker Centre
found strong WA community support for action
in other areas:
76% support additional police powers to
ensure liquor outlets do not sell to minors
by allowing police to work with underage
young people to attempt to buy alcohol
(controlled purchase operations - only 9%
opposed).
88% support the introduction of laws to
prevent the supply of alcohol to minors
without parental permission (secondary
supply legislation)
94% support regular, well-resourced
school alcohol and drug education for all
students
62% support phasing out alcohol
sponsorship of sporting events if
governments provide replacement
funding (18% opposed).
The survey results are available from the
McCusker Centre website. www.mcaay.org.au
McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth
Want to stay up-to-date on alcohol-related issues?
Interested in taking action on alcohol but aren’t
sure where to start?
Alcohol Action Station is a fortnightly e-newsletter
which aims to empower WA community members
with the information and tools to take action on
harms from alcohol.
You’ll find the latest facts and stats, tools and
support to get your voice heard, summaries of new
reports and research, invitations to community
events, news stories, and what others are doing to
reduce harms from alcohol in their community…all
delivered to your inbox, free!
Alcohol Action Station is an initiative of the
McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth
and the Injury Control Council of WA.
Visit www.mcaay.org.au to subscribe and be part
of the action. While you’re there, take a look at past
editions for more facts, stats, and tools for action.
Got something you want to share with others
concerned about alcohol? Contact us and we’ll
publish your story to inspire others in the
community to take action.
Alcohol Action Station: Get
involved in Action on Alcohol
Page 14 Issue 14
Alcohol Advertising Review Board Update
The Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) has been busy since the release of the AARB Annual
Report in June (if you haven’t read it yet, visit www.alcoholadreview.com.au). One area of concern
highlighted in the Annual Report is the placement of alcohol ads on public transport and transit stops,
including buses and bus stops. It’s impossible to control who views alcohol ads placed on public
transport – outdoor advertising cannot be switched off, avoided, or ignored, and is highly visible to
those driving and walking past as well as those using public transport.
To provide a snapshot of the volume of alcohol advertising on bus stops, the McCusker Centre
conducted two audits of bus stop ads within a 15km radius of the Perth CBD. The findings were
published in a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia (full citation below).
Key findings:
In each audit session, alcohol was the dominant product category.
Over the two audit sessions, almost a quarter of bus stop ads were for alcohol products. Of the
744 bus stop ads recorded, 172 (23%) promoted alcohol.
43% of alcohol ads were for beer, 40.7% for wine products, 15.7% for spirits and ready-to-drink
products, and 0.6% for cider.
These findings are of concern as young people represent a considerable proportion of public
transport users. Around half of WA secondary school students use public transport at least once a
week to get to school, with over a quarter using it every day.
Self-regulation has consistently failed to protect children and young people from exposure to alcohol
advertising. Strong, independent, legislated controls on all forms of alcohol advertising and promotion
are urgently required as part of a comprehensive approach to preventing alcohol-related harm in
Australia.
If you see an alcohol ad that concerns you, take action by contacting the Alcohol Advertising Review
Board at www.alcoholadreview.com.au. Follow @AlcoholAdReview on Twitter to stay updated on AARB
activities.
Introduction
PHAIWA is currently recruiting storytellers for our 5 th edition of the WA Indigenous Storybook. We
are inviting storytellers from the Kimberley region to contribute. If you have a great Indigenous
project or program you would like to promote, we’d love to hear from you.
Stories can be about projects or people in the area of health, culture, the environment, music,
arts, media, sports, language or any other initiative which is positive and making a difference in
your community.
Please contact Melissa Stoneham on [email protected] or Sunni Wilson on
[email protected] or phone 9266 2344 for more information or to share your story.
Page 15 Issue 14
The WA Indigenous Storybook-The Goldfields/Esperance and Great
Southern Edition
Calling Storytellers!
PHAIWA is just weeks away from completing the fourth edition of the WA Indigenous Storybook,
which will showcase stories from the Goldfields/Esperance and Great Southern regions of WA.
We have been fortunate to travel to some of Western Australia’s most interesting cities and
towns to meet our diverse group of storytellers and we are looking forward to sharing their
stories with you. This edition will include tales about individual people making a difference in
their community in the field of health, collective efforts to provide positive opportunities for
Indigenous students, the successes of an Indigenous owned and run radio station, an 8 day
walk through country and many more. We are always impressed with the calibre of projects and
initiatives taking place around the State in Indigenous communities and the wonderful people we
meet along the way. We will be launching the 4th edition in Kalgoorlie in November before we
embark on our fifth and final edition of the Storybook which will take us back to the Kimberley
region. We hope you enjoy reading our 4th edition!
Page 16 Issue 14
Isabel’s Adventures Continue in Swaziland-Part 6 By Melissa Stoneham and Isabel Ross
So Isabel has a dream…..it is to set up a revolutionary data collection and behaviour change
communication system for her Peer Educator, Kutimela (meaning self-reliance) and mobile clinic
programs. So to facilitate this, Isabel signed up for a course in mHealth – mobile health – in a bid
to expand her horizons in improving health through the use of mobile technologies. The course
was run by TechChange and the mHealth Alliance over four weeks. As the course progressed,
and Isabel’s learnings increased, she also came to the realisation that mHealth is still plagued
by pilot-itis and a lack of big scale evidence. In the end, it was a presentation from Robert
Fabricant at Frog Designs that helped her realise that developing a community-driven and
sustainable mHealth program is not so different from developing any community development
program.
After the course, Isabel realised that this beautiful, glossy image she had of trying to develop a
data collection and behaviour change communication system was merely “Isabel getting ahead
of herself”, and that the reality required a lot more thought, money, policy support and
interoperability than was immediately apparent, and was outside the scope of what was feasible
for the rural grandmothers in Swaziland.
So with her mHealth dream on hold, Isabel went on to another adventure – to launch the Song of
The Weaver CD. The Song of The Weaver started as a collection of woven pieces inspired by
three generations of Gone Rural women from Lavumisa. Over many months, a biography
basket was created each using materials found around their homesteads woven into a tale of
their life’s struggles and joys. These baskets were recently exhibited at Habitat Gallery in
London, and have spurned a whole new collection for Gone Rural. To build upon this concept,
Isabel began working with Gone Rural’s Creative Director and a volunteer recording engineer to
develop a musical CD that would complement the collection. Isabel visited each region to
record six groups of artisans singing their choice of traditional songs – songs that the women
enjoyed and which gave them a sense of identity and pride. The women dressed up and came
out in force, dancing and singing for hours. All of this work, and then some, resulted in the
launch of the CD which is now
available globally. The Song of The
Weaver is available for download.
Simply name your price (Isabel
recommends a minimum US$7)
because all profits go to Gone Rural
boMake’s projects benefiting over
10,000 rural people directly.
Here is the link if you are interested:
http://gonerural.bandcamp.com
Recording the Song of the Weaver
On a personal note, Isabel came overall third place in the Inyatsi Nkonyeni G2G 32km mountain bike race and first for her age group. Clearly Swaziland has been kind to Isabel’s health, because she also joined 4500 Swazi’s to climb the world’s second biggest rock in an event called the Sibebe Survivor, which raises funds for Rotary’s projects in Swaziland. Rotary has supported some of Gone Rural boMake’s sanitation projects in Lavumisa, so Isabel joined in the cause. This walk occurs during fire season in Swaziland – which starts in the cane fields and progresses into the bushland areas. Isabel says “Swazis seem to think nothing of setting fire to dry grass and oily eucalypts on a 30+oC day, with 25 knot winds, 10 metres from a thatched roof homestead which has no running water.” The upside of these fires, is that the heavy blanket of smoke in the air at night exemplifies the sunsets, making them spectacular.
But it isn’t the fires that seem to scare the locals –
Isabel reflects on how the Swaziland United
Breweries posted a public announcement that
there would be a nationwide shortage of three
brands of beer for two weeks, which was met with
sensationalist media (see pic) and resulted in an
outpouring of public concern, and a frenzy of beer
consumption.
So Isabel’s adventures continue and her travels in
the past couple of months have taken her to a land
of nothingness, Namibia (probably due to the lack
of a major river system), Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Here are a few photos just to whet your appetite for
travel to southern Africa.
Page 17 Issue 14
Isabel’s Adventures Continue in Swaziland-Part 6 By Melissa Stoneham and Isabel Ross
E-news:
PHAIWA sends email updates listing events, conferences, campaigns, news, media and employment
opportunities. Emails are sent out to members of the E-news list around once a week, and
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If you would like to subscribe to the PHAIWA e-news list, please click on the following link: E-
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please email [email protected].
MediaWatch service:
PHAIWA also provides a free-to-subscribe MediaWatch service. The daily MediaWatch email
summarises news articles with relevance to public health, advocacy and PHAIWA priority areas from
selected local and national print news (The West Australian, The Sunday Times, The Australian and
ABC News online).
If you would like to subscribe to MediaWatch please click on the following link: MediaWatch. Or send
an email to [email protected] with the subject line 'MediaWatch subscribe'
JournalWatch:
Every month PHAIWA also delivers a free ‘JournalWatch’ service. This service provides an email
précis of 10 public health journals, The aim of ‘JournalWatch’ will be to highlight the advocacy/policy
implications of these articles. If you would be interested in receiving this service or just want to know
more please email us at [email protected]
Anyone can subscribe to JournalWatch by clicking this link: Subscribe to JournalWatch or by sending
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Bin the Spin
PHAIWA invites all eagle-eyed advocates to submit entries to the monthly ‘Bin the Spin’.
Have you seen unhealthy promotions that are...
Misleading?
Emphasise ‘health’ benefits of a clearly unhealthy product?
Positioned in an inappropriate manner? (e.g. where children walk past on their way to
school or next to a newspaper article about chronic disease); or
For any other reason, strike you as ‘not right’?...then nominate them for the ‘Bin the Spin’!
Nominations are welcome from any marketing medium. For example:
Newspaper or magazine ads; billboards or other outdoor advertising; product packaging; TV ads
(where you can capture a graphic or a link from YouTube); supermarket or shopping centre
displays; online or new technologies.
If you find something, send us an email at [email protected]
To view the entries of the unhealthiest promotions from previous months, follow this link:
http://www.phaiwa.org.au/index.php/other-projects-mainmenu-146/bin-the-spin
Page 18 Issue 14
PHAIWA Update
