Editorial: Queensland a great place to live, and sadly die

Queensland might be the most liveable state in Australia, but now we know it comes with a disturbing downside, writes the editor.

Queensland is, without a doubt, the best place to live in Australia.

We have the sunshine, the outdoor lifestyle and an abundance of fresh food, yet Queenslanders are dying earlier than people in every other state in the nation.

The startling statistics revealed in today’s Courier-Mail should be deeply alarming, particularly given life expectancy is regarded globally as a pivotal indicator of health outcomes.

The facts are that, between 2011 and 2021, the median age of death in this state was 80.8 years.

That is well behind every other state, but years behind South Australia which recorded 83.2 years and Victoria which came in at 82.8 years.

Our southern neighbour NSW was also well ahead of us at an impressive 82.5 years.

While life expectancy has been generally on the rise across the developed world for the past century, Queensland’s poor performance relative to other states has existed for decades.

Dr Bruce Willett, Queensland chief of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said he was shocked by the figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Given the trend goes back several decades, Dr Willett is puzzled why the problem has not been highlighted by our Health Department.

“It’s surprising there has not been some major push by Queensland Health to turn around this trend, it’s certainly been evident for a long time when you inspect the numbers,’’ Dr Willett said.

The link between our health crisis and our relatively poor life expectancy is not difficult to establish. Queenslanders are clearly putting off doctor’s visits because of financial stress. There are now long lists for lifesaving screenings and procedures, while the time-honoured approach of establishing a family relationship with a GP across decades is dying away.

Obesity is also a problem, while the lack of fresh food in some of our more isolated regions is also having a deeply negative impact on health outcomes.

But add the long-term impacts of our crowded emergency wards, ambulance ramping and the woeful state of maternity services and a pattern of general health decline becomes obvious.

Queensland chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, in his first annual report released last March, brings another perspective to this issue, pointing out that we are living longer, even if we are not doing as well as other states.

But Dr Gerrard also notes that with Queenslanders living longer comes an increase in the burden of chronic disease, particularly in remote populations.

Clearly, our Health Department has a responsibility to highlight these important figures on life expectancy as well as a responsibility to get proactive on remedial work to (at the very least) bring our life expectancy back in line with other states.

It’s clear that this problem is just another symptom of deep structural problems inside Queensland Health.

New Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has a heavy responsibility to sort this mess out, and there is no doubt that she faces a difficult and complex task.

But with access to a $23.6bn budget for this year alone, it cannot be argued that the Health Department is too under-resourced to address the challenge.

STATE TAKES REINS ASA DEFENCE CAPITAL

Queenslanders have always embraced military service, putting up a strong showing in every conflict since the 1st Contingent of the Queensland Mounted Infantry departed Brisbane for Africa’s Boer War in November of 1899.

So it’s no real surprise that the sunshine state is now contributing more than a third of new Australian Defence Force recruits.

Queensland has accounted for up to 36 per cent of ADF’s new recruits, despite its population base being smaller than NSW and Victoria.

Southern states are recording a drop off in recruitment, which would be a worrying trend regardless of developments on the geopolitical front.

But the strategic AUKUS partnership between Australia, the UK and US to bolster allied deterrence and defence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific is going to require a great deal of human capital.

New figures suggest a worrying recruitment picture, with an average 1000 new personnel needed annually to meet AUKUS capability targets, as opposed to an actual intake of just 200 people.

Queensland’s significant military assets may have a role to play in our young taking an interest in a military career.

Whatever the reason, it is gratifying to see Queenslanders following on in a proud tradition started more than a century ago.