Monique Ryan
Melbourne
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Articles by Monique Ryan
‘Lowering the temperature’ isn’t enough. We need better from our politicians and the media
The Prime Minister is right. We – all of us – do need to “turn the temperature down”. But as the crossbench, as well as MPs and senators across the Parliament, have discovered, the temperature has continued to rise since the tragic attack on Helen Haines last week. We’ve all been assailed with a rising torrent of bile and threats – online, by email, by phone – as we and our teams have struggled to deal with grief for our friend and worry for our teams’ safety.
The government’s health insurance rebate cut doesn’t add up
There’s no doubt that our private health insurance system needs reform. Insurers’ benefit payout ratios have drifted lower for years, eroding the value of private insurance to policy holders. Every year we pay more and get less. Meanwhile, more than 500,000 high-earners have opted out of private cover altogether, while healthy young members subsidise a shrinking pool. We need to modernise the Medicare levy surcharge.
Would you like a cost-of-learning crisis with that?
It’s axiomatic that a better educated community makes for a fairer, more productive, more prosperous nation. But Australia has a cost-of-learning crisis, just as much as we have a cost-of-living crisis. And it’s all our governments’ work. Millions of Australians have done the right thing – studying hard at school and university, getting a degree, working and paying taxes.
Independent MPs warn NDIS funding cuts risk leaving vulnerable Australians without support
Federal Independent MPs have called on the Albanese Government to provide greater transparency and safeguards for Australians living with disability as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) comes under scrutiny ahead of the 2026–27 Budget. The group, led by Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan, also includes Warringah MP Zali Steggall, Curtin MP Kate Chaney and Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele.
This is not the time to power down on EVs
Many is the time, looking around the chamber, I ask myself the same question: When will we ever learn? This time, it is the government’s contemplation of removing incentives to encourage motorists to switch to electric vehicles at exactly the moment we are experiencing an energy supply-chain shock resulting from the United States–Israeli war with Iran.
Its time for Parliament to recognise gambling's damage to health
The 2026 football season is upon us, that means that, once again, our screens and stadia will be polluted with wall-to-wall gambling advertising. Not that you would know it from the narrative broadcast by AFL HQ. Last week, thousands of club members – myself included – received an email from AFL PLAY stating the league’s commitment to health and wellbeing.
The government’s HECS Bill swings and misses on student debt
The Albanese government continues to shirk action on the worst remnant of the Morrison-era changes to higher education. By continuing to ignore the urgent need to undo the Job-Ready Graduates scheme, the government is retaining a policy that harms the financial security and living standards of millions of young Australians. Some 2.9 million Australians carry, on average, more than $27,000 in HECS debts.
As temperatures to rise, it's time to name heatwaves what they are
In Melbourne Tuesday, the temperature hit an extraordinary 45. According to the state’s Emergency Management Commissioner, we’re experiencing our most significant heatwave since Black Saturday. Much of the southeastern Australia is baking, just as it did in 2009 when over 400 people died in Victoria and South Australia as a consequence of the heat – twice as many as in the bushfires that followed. Australia is getting hotter, fast.
In Washington the Prime Minister should have visited the NIH
So, Anthony Albanese got his meeting with Donald Trump, got the rare earths deal he wanted and got the President’s word, for what it’s worth, that Australia will actually see some nuclear submarines for which we’ve already shelled out billions of dollars. However, in his Washington drive-by there was another opportunity the Prime Minister missed, an opportunity no less vital to Australia’s future – recruiting the world’s best medical researchers to our shores.
Labor’s CDC lacks budget and vision
Never before has Australia more needed a full-service, independent Centre for Disease Control, able to address the rising challenges of disease, both infectious and non-communicable. Medical experts first called for such a centre during the 1980s HIV crisis, but it took the frustration and fear of the Covid-19 pandemic to prompt the then Albanese opposition to commit to our first public health peak body.
HECS reforms: more needs to be done – and quickly
Students used to accept Higher Education Contribution Scheme debts, and other student loans, without much thought. Two things changed that. The first was indexation. HECS loans are interest-free but indexed annually on June 1, using a CPI-based formula to ensure they maintain their real value over time. In 2023 and 2024, high inflation meant the total owed by Australian graduates increased from $67 billion to over $81 billion.
How lobbyists are blocking bans on advertising for online gambling - and putting young Australians at risk
Two years ago this week, the late Labor MP Peta Murphy tabled a landmark parliamentary report — You Win Some, You Lose More — calling for a phased ban on gambling advertising. It was a bold, evidence-based proposal to protect Australians — especially children and young people — from the saturation of betting promotions that normalise harmful behaviour. It had rare bipartisan support from all members of the Parliamentary Committee into Social Policy and Legal Affairs.
Australians lose while our government fails to ban gambling ads
Two years ago, the late Peta Murphy presented a landmark parliamentary report titled You Win Some, You Lose More to the Federal Parliament. The Murphy report set out 31 urgent recommendations to rein in online gambling in Australia. In the past two years, the Albanese government has failed to respond to that report – while Australians have lost more than $50 billion to gambling. We are, per capita, the world’s biggest gambling losers.
The murky world of lobbying and the North West Shelf
It’s hard to explain to a young person how the Albanese Government could possibly have approved the North West Shelf gas project expansion last week. The last Parliament legislated to cut climate pollution by 39 million tonnes by 2030; those efforts were rendered meaningless by the second Albanese Government’s first major decision.
Dried Blood Spot Lipidomics in Diabetes
Abstract Comprehensive lipidomic profiling in diabetes has identified disease-associated lipid signatures that may support more personalised monitoring beyond routine glycaemic control. Dried blood spot (DBS) microsampling offers a minimally invasive method for collecting and storing small blood volumes (<50 uL), enabling decentralised and longitudinal sampling. However, its application in lipidomics for cardiometabolic phenotyping remains underexplored.
Inside the battle for Kooyong
It’s a truism that independents, once re-elected, are hard to shift. Parliamentary stalwarts such as Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie are testament to the fact that once entrenched, independents tend to stay in office. That being the case, political parties are wont to throw everything at first-termers, knowing this might be their only opportunity to win back the seat, other than at the independent’s retirement.
The Federal lobbying code is toothless and it has failed
Commercial lobbying is a multibillion dollar industry in Australia. A code of conduct which allows our Defence Minister to discuss defence business with a global contracting firm in cabinet, then take a job with that firm nine days after leaving politics, is a code which is corrosive of public trust in democracy. Edited transcript of a speech to Parliament by Dr Monique Ryan MP on the tabling of the Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2023****, November 13, 2023.
Who are our Ministers meeting with? We deserve to know
The public deserves to know who our Ministers are meeting with. The news today that former Cabinet Minister Stuart Robert met consulting firm Accenture to discuss a $111 million federal project, triggering probity concerns, shows it’s time we publish Ministerial diaries. The public should know who Ministers are meeting and why, and they should know this as soon as is practicable.
Going to the mountain for Assange
Later this month Ill travel to Washington, as part of a Parliamentary delegation, to advocate on behalf of Julian Assange. The Parliamentary delegation includes representatives from across the political colour spectrum Forest Green (senior Nationals member Barnaby Joyce), Green (Senators Peter Whish-Wilson and David Shoebridge), Red (Labor backbencher Tony Zappia), Navy Blue (Liberal member Alex Antic) and Teal.
Rebuilding the NDIS
660 000 Australians are participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and 400 000 work in NDIS-related jobs. Our country needs the NDIS, but its expanded too quickly in recent years, as state-based services have withered on the vine. 11% of five- to seven-year-old Australian boys, and 5% of five- to seven-year-old girls, are now NDIS participants. At the current rate of growth, its cost could increase to as much as $100 billion a year by 2032. This is simply unsustainable.
Hip Dysplasia in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease: Insights From a Large Cohort of Children and Adolescents
1 Introduction Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is a group of inherited neuropathies characterized by progressive length-dependent limb weakness and sensory deficits. It is estimated to affect 1 in 1 214 to 3 344 individuals [1, 2]. CMT is traditionally categorized according to neurophysiologic findings and its mode of inheritance.
Clinical prediction of wound re-epithelisation outcomes in non-severe burn injury using the plasma lipidome
Abstract Whilst wound repair in severe burns has received substantial research attention, non-severe burns (<20% total body surface area) remain relatively understudied, despite causing considerable physiological impact and constituting most of the hospital admissions for burns. Early prediction of healing outcomes would decrease financial and patient burden, and aid in preventing long-term complications from poor wound healing.
Pearls and Irritations
660 000 Australians are participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and 400 000 work in NDIS-related jobs. Our country needs the NDIS, but it’s expanded too quickly in recent years, as state-based services have withered on the vine. 11% of five- to seven-year-old Australian boys, and 5% of five- to seven-year-old girls, are now NDIS participants. At the current rate of growth, its cost could increase to as much as $100 billion a year by 2032. This is simply unsustainable.
This is what Labor’s Future Made in Australia plan misses
By putting billions of dollars towards critical minerals and green hydrogen, Australia is finally getting serious about a clean energy future. The federal government should be lauded for its efforts to make us a clean energy superpower with its Future Made in Australia plan. Yet the government has missed a big – perhaps the biggest – piece of the puzzle. Alongside critical minerals and green hydrogen, the government should make big plays to support the rise of the humble home battery and heat pump.
288,057 people signed and won this petition
The issue The HECS debt system is broken. Last year, over a million Australians saw their HECS debt grow faster than it was being repaid because of an unfair indexation system. The government got more money last year from our HECS debts than it did from its main fossil fuel tax. As we sign this petition, Education Minister Jason Clare is deciding what to do about HECS debts. We are calling on Minister Clare to change the way HECS debts are indexed.
Stratification of Sepsis Patients on Admission into the Intensive Care Unit According to Differential Plasma Metabolic Phenotypes
Despite notable improvements in the delivery of intensive care in recent years, severe sepsis and septic shock remain a significant clinical problem with a substantial morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. (1,2) Globally, almost 50 million sepsis cases were reported in 2017 with mortality rates at 20–50% depending on age and regional disparities.
The Federal lobbying code is toothless and it has failed
Commercial lobbying is a multibillion dollar industry in Australia. A code of conduct which allows our Defence Minister to discuss defence business with a global contracting firm in cabinet, then take a job with that firm nine days after leaving politics, is a code which is corrosive of public trust in democracy. Edited transcript of a speech to Parliament by Dr Monique Ryan MP on the tabling of the Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2023, November 13, 2023.
Monique Ryan on the fight to free Julian Assange
7am is a daily news podcast brought to you by the publishers of The Saturday Paper and The Monthly. How to listen? Website Independent member for Kooyong and member of the delegation to Washington, DC, Monique Ryan, on whether Australia’s pleas to free Julian Assange are being heard in the US. Over the years, countless efforts have been made to release Julian Assange. As of now, he’s still likely to be extradited to the United States to face charges that amount to over 100 years in jail.
Assange is a test of US friendship
The relationship between Australia and the United States has long been cordial and productive. Founded in the same era, both post-colonial democracies and now partners in a 70-year military alliance, we share both our language and our cultural affinities. That relationship has, however, had challenges from its earliest days. In 1804 an Australian sealer, Joseph Murrell, was seized and held captive by a group of Americans who were also hoping to harvest the rich seal colonies of King Island.
Why Australian Lawmakers Want the U.S. To Free Julian Assange
We are representatives from across the Australian political spectrum — right to left. We rarely agree on anything, with this exception: Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, must be freed to return home to Australian soil immediately.
The Fight for a Voice: Inside the case for ‘Yes’
7am is a daily news podcast brought to you by the publishers of The Saturday Paper and The Monthly. How to listen? Website How was the campaign built? And can it really overcome the huge challenge in time for Saturday’s vote? The “Yes” campaign set out to accomplish a rare feat in Australian politics: to win a majority of Australians and a majority of states. That is, to win a referendum. It began as a difficult task and has only become more gruelling as bipartisanship was lost and the polls turned.
Fueling During Endurance Exercise: Balancing Intake with Gastrointestinal Tolerances
It is well established that optimal amounts of carbohydrate and fluid consumed during endurance exercise enhances various measures of performance. The rate of gastric emptying is an important step towards providing the working muscles with exogenous carbohydrates and fluid. Once emptied from the stomach carbohydrate absorption takes place primarily in the duodenum and jejunum along with sodium and water.
Non-severe burns induce a prolonged systemic metabolic phenotype indicative of a persistent inflammatory response post-injury
Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
Taking the long view on COVID
What are the next steps after the parliamentary committee investigation into long COVID? On April 24, the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport released the report of its six-month-long investigation into long COVID. Parliamentary committees are odd beasts; this one possibly odder than most. By strict custom, they’re chaired by a representative from the government, with a deputy from the Opposition and membership drawn from the major parties and crossbench in defined quotas.
The coronation, the republic and the voice
From now until referendum day, we have removed the paywall on all Voice coverage. Read and share this article for free. Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is a necessary step towards a republic As a primary school student in the 1960s, I was told to “stand up straight and speak like Prince Charles”. While I could manage the first part, the elocution was a bridge too far.
When the chips are down
Silicon semiconductor production could be the one thing keeping Taiwan safe from a mainland China takeover Perhaps it is only near the end of a career that we can identify the individuals who have stood at the hinge of history. In the case of 75-year-old Dr Miin Wu, one of the founders of Taiwan’s silicon semiconductor chip industry, you could argue that he has been that hinge. Partly thanks to him, the world relies on Taiwan for more than 90 per cent of advanced semiconductors.
The year of living cautiously
What do the first 12 months of the Albanese government tell us about its aims, and how should we assess its success? Novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk believes that when we read a book, we are – consciously or not – searching for its “secret centre”. Whether a novel in fact has such a centre is arguable, but our conviction that it does drives our reading experience.
June 2023 | The Monthly
Sudden clarity during and after the final days in aged care of a neighbour with dementia Trailing orcas on a whale hunt off the Ningaloo coast provides a visceral thrill and good news for the ecosystem
Metabolic consequences of non-severe burn injury are associated with increased plasma markers of inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk.
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Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg given more time to settle workplace disputeLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad content
Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Social activist Sally Rugg and her boss, independent MP Dr Monique Ryan, will continue robust negotiations in a bid to settle their high-profile court case over parliamentary working hours.The pair were given two more weeks to reach a resolution after the Federal Court heard lawyers remained confident of reaching a mediated outcome.Sally Rugg arrives at the Federal Court with her legal team on Friday.The matter is scheduled to return to...
Experts cast doubt on convictions over children’s deathsLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad content
Dispatchist News from around the globe in real time Client login News Sources Countries People Categories Organizations Federal MP and doctor Monique Ryan is among experts to be called in the inquiry into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions over the deaths of her four children.
‘Gave Australians $1 trillion of debt’: Labor MP Patrick Gorman teases Josh Frydenberg amid talk of political comeback
Labor’s Patrick Gorman has mocked Josh Frydenberg’s record as treasurer amid speculation he could mount a political comeback through a by-election.
Tanya Plibersek insists gas, coal projects will be judged on meritThe Australian Financial ReviewClose menuSearchExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandExpandCloseAdd tagAdd tagAdd tagThe Australian Financial ReviewTwitterInstagramLin
The environment minister pushed back at suggestions her decision to kill one of Clive Palmer’s mines meant she would block other gas and coal projects.
David Pocock blasts Labor over bid to reauthorise Nauru offshore immigration detention
Albanese government plans to push through changes with likely Coalition support despite crossbench concern Guardian Australia revealed that the decision resulted in about 100 people being released from onshore immigration detention.According to the Senate notice paper, and confirmed by Guardian Australia, on Tuesday afternoon the government will introduce a bill in the upper house restoring its previous interpretation that sentences for multiple offences that are aggregated to a term of...
Cheers could easily turn to jeers for AlbaneseLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad content
Will it, as Albanese promised, “change the way politics works in this country” and be “kinder and gentler”?On the “kinder and gentler” front, the signs weren’t promising last week.Loading The committee heard more than 800,000 households will come off fixed interest rate mortgages this year.Those borrowers coming off low rates onto much higher and rising variable rates will be at risk of joining the 260,000 households who are already under severe mortgage stress.
Everything You Ever Need to Know About Electrolytes
Charge up your running to prevent everything from muscle cramps to brain drain. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app. Most runners know they need to replace electrolytes lost in sweat—that’s the whole idea behind carrying sports drinks on long runs. But did you know that your daily diet is filled with a wide range of them from whole foods that enable many important functions in your body?
Gene therapy for neuromuscular disorders: prospects and ethics
Gene therapy for neuromuscular disorders: prospects and ethics http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6397-1910Monique M Ryan1,2 1 Children's Neurosciences Centre, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 2 Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Correspondence to Dr Monique M Ryan, Children's Neurosciences Centre, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; monique.ryan{at}rch.org.au Abstract Most childhood...
The association between dietary factors and body weight and composition in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
ORIGINAL ARTICLE Natassja Billich, Corresponding Author Natassja Billich natassja.k.billich@gmail.com orcid.org/0000-0001-8566-9341 Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, VIC, Australia The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Correspondence Natassja Billich, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Faculty...
Gene therapy for neuromuscular disorders: prospects and ethics
Gene therapy for neuromuscular disorders: prospects and ethics http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6397-1910Monique M Ryan1,2 1Children's Neurosciences Centre, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 2Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Correspondence to Dr Monique M Ryan, Children's Neurosciences Centre, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; monique.ryan{at}rch.org.au Abstract Most childhood...
Going Meatless Once a Week
Going vegetarian for one day a week for health or religious reasons is a small change that can improve your health and the environment. Going light on meat was the norm a few generations ago when meat often was consumed as side dish portions, while nutrient-rich beans and lentils, vegetables and whole grains took center stage.
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