Futile choices: Wooing doctors to acknowledge the law in Queensland

End-of-life decision-making continues to challenge health care providers, patients, families, regulators and judges. The Queensland State Coroner's findings in the 2009 inquest into the death of June Woo resulted in a submission from concerned clinicians to the Queensland Law Reform Commission's review of the State's guardianship regime, claiming that the judgment held problematic implications for future practice. This column summarises the State Coroner's findings and recommendations, and critically analyses the clinical response, focusing on consent requirements that, while peculiar to Queensland, illustrate continuing tensions surrounding decision-making conflicts at the end of life.     

Taxing the tempted: Personal addictions,sustainable revenues and the public good

The regulation of gaming, tobacco and alcohol is challenged by new realities. First, fewer people are convinced that government regulation of these indulgences is consistent with a rights‐based society. Second, while provincial budgets have continued to climb, the revenues drawn from “sin taxes” (excise taxes from tobacco and alcohol and revenues from gambling) have declined as a proportion of total revenues. As a result, these taxes will not cover the important social and health care costs triggered by the new permissiveness. This study contributes to budget theory by examining the changing policy landscape and sheds light on how Canadian provinces in particular have attempted to balance individual rights, social oversight and provincial revenues. It concludes by speculating on other addictive products that could soon be framed as worthy of taxation.     

Lifelong learning and age discrimination in employment

Age discrimination in employment can be perfectly lawful in the United Kingdom. Older workers are discriminated against when they seek employment and whilst they are in employment, as well as being encouraged to leave the workforce. One of the purposes of a programme of lifelong learning is to aid the employability and career progression of individuals within the workforce. There is, however, little evidence to show that those who enter or return to higher education as mature students fare any better than other workers in avoiding discrimination based upon their chronological age. The Government introduced a voluntary code of practice on age diversity in employment and resisted legislation on the subject. There appears, however, to be a contradiction between this resistance and the Government's encouragement of the principle of lifelong learning.