Workshop slides

1. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Politics and Power in Public Health
DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Dr Helen Brown
COMMERCIAL

2. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Overview
 Commercial determinants of health
 ‘Merchants of Doubt’
 Industry and democracy
 Think tanks and lobby groups

3. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Commercial determinants of health:
Corporations and health
 “In the last two centuries, corporations became the world’s
dominant economic unit.9 By the start of the twenty-first
century, 51 of the 100 largest ‘economies’ in the world
were corporations.10
 They influence every aspect of human experience, from
diet, air pollution, work, and health care to personal
identity, sexuality, and governance.”
(Freudenberg, 2012; p246)

4. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
How do corporations shape lifestyles?
(Freudenberg, 2012)

5. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
How do corporations shape lifestyles?
1. manufacture goods that enhance or harm health;
2. shape people’s psychological states through advertising
and the media; creating or reinforcing the wants, desires,
and identities that influence lifestyle and health behavior.
They also generate the information that individuals use to
make decisions about diet, physical activity, tobacco and
alcohol use, and health care;
(Freudenberg, 2012)

6. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
How do corporations shape lifestyles?
3. structure physical environments through commercial
decisions and influencing zoning, design, and economic
development. This, in turn, shapes choices about what to
purchase, where to live, and how to get from one place to
another;
4. alter social environments in which people make decisions
about lifestyle and health;
(Freudenberg, 2012)

7. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
How do corporations shape lifestyles?
5. lobby, conduct public relations, make campaign
contributions, litigate, sponsor scientific research, and
use philanthropy to guard their financial interests and
ensure a favorable business climate.
(Freudenberg, 2012)

8. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

9. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Discussion: Merchants of Doubt
Nicholas Stern, former chief economist
of the World Bank has called
anthropogenic global warming "the
greatest and widest-ranging market
failure ever seen".
What did he mean by this?

10. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Discussion: Merchants of Doubt
"The environmental movement is like
a watermelon - green on the outside,
red on the inside: climate scientists
are communists and socialists in
disguise, abusing science to change
policies and societies to their liking.“
Why does this belief arise from time to
time in certain sections of the media
and polity?

11. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Activity 7.1: Merchants of Doubt
Context
We are members of “tribes,”
unwilling to accept any truths,
even scientific truths, that oppose
our values, habits, and ways of
seeing the world.
An objective observer may look at
evidence one way, but partisans
interpret evidence in a way that
supports their existing world view.

12. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Activity 7.1: Merchants of Doubt
1. Why do you think many people
tend to reject scientific truths
predicting future harm when such
truths threaten the status quo or
call into question the
sustainability of certain economic
and cultural habits and values?
2. How could scientific literacy make
the public less vulnerable to false
claims, misinformation, and
political propaganda?

13. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
A brief history of scare campaigns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzZnsQrBu6s

14. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
A brief history of scare campaigns
 How does industry
advertising influence policy
development?
 Is this a legitimate form of
advocacy in a liberal
democracy?

15. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Health Partnerships, Politics and Power

16. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Think Tanks
 Think tanks are organisations that are set up as supposedly
independent policy and research institutes. This is rarely
the case. Sometimes are associated with political parties:
 Liberal Party affiliated Menzies Research Centre
<https://www. menziesrc.org/>
 Labor affiliated Chifley Research Centre
http://www.chifley.org.au/
 Greens affiliated Green Institute
http://greenagenda.org.au/

17. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Think Tanks
 Some think tanks are identified as left-leaning or
progressive:
 Centre for Policy Development <http://cpd.org.au/>
"promote wellbeing, fairness and sustainability through our
democracy, economy and society."
 The Australia Institute <http://www.tai.org.au/>
"advancing a vision for a fair and progressive Australia."

18. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Think Tanks
 Others are considered more centrist:
 Grattan Institute <http://grattan.edu.au/>
"non-partisan think tank providing independent, rigorous
and practical solutions to some of the country’s most
pressing problems."

19. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Think Tanks
And others are clearly aligned with neo-liberal ideology:
 Institute of Public Affairs <http://www.ipa.org.au/>
"The IPA supports the free market of ideas, the free flow of
capital, a limited and efficient government, evidence-based
public policy, the rule of law, and representative
democracy."
 Centre for Independent Studies
<https://www.cis.org.au/> "promotes liberty, the rule of law,
free enterprise and an efficient democratic government."

20. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Australia’s ‘Heartland Institute’…

21. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
 IPA Website <http://www.ipa.org.au/>:
“For 60 years the Institute of Public Affairs has been the most effective
advocate for small, efficient government, low regulation, low
taxes and individual liberty in Australia. The Institute of Public Affairs
is the only organisation in Australia actively opposing:
 bad climate change policies,
 the Nanny State,
 high taxes and over-regulation."
 The IPA also receive funding from tobacco, mining and other
industries that stand to benefit from their policy agenda:
<http://ipa.org.au/publications/2080/be-like-gough-75-radical-ideas-to-
transform-australia>

22. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

23. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

24. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Political donations
 The Australian Electoral Commission provides a database of
donations made to political parties:
Periodic Disclosures: Donor by group
<http://periodicdisclosures.aec.gov.au/>
 The Democracy4sale research project has classified the donor
companies into industry categories to make navigating the data easier.
This means you can view donations by party, by company, by industry
category or by year:
Search Donations <http://democracyforsale.net/search-aec/>

25. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
How do we respond?
 Getting information
 Legislative action
 Electoral activities
 Litigation
 Actions aimed at corporations
 Education, information and
mobilisation campaigns

26. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Key concepts
 Market failure
 Industry influence
 Political lobbying
 Think tank

27. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Next week
 Beginning of Block 3 (homeward stretch)
 Module 8: Healthy People, Places and Planet – exploring
the intersections of environmental sustainability and public
health through urban planning and local government

28. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Module 7: Commercial Determinants of Health
Politics and Power in Public Health
Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Questions & comments

29. Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
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