Even in this golden age of medical and surgical wizardry and developing gene science, all wrapped and ribboned in IT, we owe our health to things that won’t appear in budgets or election platforms in the health category.

Although our relatively clean air, potable water, dependable quality food supply, education and low levels of poverty matter intensely in keeping us healthy, you will not find a line for them in the spreadsheets of those seeking our vote — at least not in the section labelled ‘health’.

True, the Climate and Health Alliance has welcomed the recent commitment by the Australian Labor Party to develop a national strategy on climate, health and well­being, but this is unusual, and there’s many a slip between strategy and action.

Last year’s federal budget reversed the perverse Medicare freeze on rebates for general practice, which thankfully will come into force this July.