AMA National Conference 2015 - Success of state and territory AMAs recognised

State and Territory AMAs have been recognised for their exceptional work in advocacy and communications.

AMA President, Associate Professor Brian Owler, tonight presented awards acknowledging the outstanding work of several State and Territory AMAs in a range of categories including Best Lobby Campaign, Best Public Health Campaign, Best State Publication, National Advocacy and Most Innovative Use of Website or New Media.

This year’s highly deserving winners include:

Best Lobby Campaign 2015 – AMA New South Wales

‘NSW State Election’

The relentless and strategic efforts of AMA New South Wales resulted in the returned Coalition State Government pledging funding for a number of health objectives, including allocating nearly $1 billion for upgrades to Westmead Hospital. This is a very significant achievement.

AMA New South Wales relentlessly lobbied both the Coalition Government and Labor Opposition to meet key health objectives of the AMA. As a result, both the Government and the Opposition adopted very similar policies involving substantial investment to upgrade Westmead Hospital.

The judges were impressed with the effectiveness of the AMA New South Wales campaign, highlighting AMA New South Wales’ success in securing bipartisan support.

Best Public Health Campaign 2015 – AMA Queensland

‘Obesity Campaign’

AMA Queensland provided great leadership in putting the issue of obesity squarely on the public agenda with their ‘Lighten Your Load’ campaign.

The campaign used educational messages, advocacy tactics and collaboration with other health organisations to ensure the message was circulated widely through the community.

The key messages were used as platform from which to launch a range of other initiatives, such as campaigning for a ban on fast food outlets within one kilometre of schools, a pilot program to subsidise fruit and vegetables for at-risk communities, and a call for public funding for bariatric surgery.

The long-term vision of the campaign was seen by the judges as a good start to tackle obesity in Australia.

Best State Publication 2015 – AMA Victoria

‘VicDoc’

AMA Victoria has won the highly competitive Best State Publication award for VicDoc by edging out its rivals with its mix of engaging features on a wide variety of topics.

VicDoc readers were well-served by articles commissioned direct from politicians and other health leaders.

The judges said the magazine’s consistent quality was particularly remarkable given, that during the competition period, the publication had no full-time editor.

National Advocacy Award 2015 – AMA Victoria

‘Stop the co-payment #StopTheCoP’

AMA Victoria’s dedication to tirelessly support and promote Federal AMA in its opposition to the Government’s co-payment has seen them take home the National Advocacy Award.

The advocacy effort by AMA Victoria was unrelenting as they constantly promoted the AMA’s opinion to both AMA members and non-members through their publication, weekly updates, media and social media.

The judges said this award should be seen as a collective acknowledgement of the good work done right across the AMA which resulted in the Government scraping the co-payment.

Most Innovative Use of Website or New Media 2015 – AMA Western Australia

‘Part-Time Doctor Portal’

29 May 2015

CONTACT:        John Flannery                     02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761

                            Odette Visser                      02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753

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