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IntroductionSince the report to the AFCMA on Australia in 1996 the population in the sevenStates and Territories has increased from 17million to 21million. The increase isdue to migration and natural population increase which has made for amulticultural society. The total number of doctors has also increased by around30% to about 54000, and the medical student numbers have risen from 1500 to3000 due to establishment of new medical schools.Two new Catholic Medical Schools have been opened in the Fremantlecampus of the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2005 and on the Sydneycampus of UNDA in 2008. Fremantle will graduate its first 78 medical students onthe 13 th December 2008. A report on the Medical schools of UNDA has beensent separately to this Congress. It will be hoped in time that more of thesedoctors will be supportive of the Catholic Doctor Associations in Australia.Current StatusThe number of Catholic doctors in Australia could be estimated at 36% of all thedoctors, that is around 18000. However, as in the rest of the Western World, theAustralian population is increasingly secularized and only a small proportion isactively involved with their faith. There is also a general resistance to formassociations of any type which require some form of commitment.The result of these trends is a reduction of membership and participation in theactivities of the Catholic Doctors Associations and Guilds. The activeassociations in four States in Australia are:The Catholic Doctors Association (Western Australia)The Catholic Doctors Association (Victoria)The Guild of St. Luke QueenslandThe Guild of St. Luke New South WalesThe combined total in Australia of financial members would not be muchgreater than 200 doctors.Of these groups the Queensland group under Dr Terrence Kent as President,would at present be the most active. It has an active and enthusiastic
committee which has arranged annually a successful Symposium, Annual Massand Dinner. It has a web site at http://catholicmedicine.com and produces anewsletter. It also holds monthly Grand Rounds with guest speakers. This Guildhas also been busy with pro-life advocacy work especially in the current climate.The Victorian Association relies more on email contact and does not insist onfinancial membership for association. This association has been very busy underthe guidance of its President Dr. Eamonn Mathieson eamonn.1@bigpond.net.auto advocate against the recent Abortion Law Reform Bill in Victoria.The association in Western Australia, led by Dr Michael Tandonljgbc@iinet.net.au as President, has found increasing difficulty with activesupport and is currently reducing its activities to the celebration of an annualMass for health care workers prior to an AGM, promotion of social andprofessional contacts and encouragement of members to undertake outreachprojects. In the future the CDA of WA will also invite association of allied healthprofessionals including nurses, pharmacists, and physiotherapists. Hopefully it willpick up again as there is a need to resist these adverse changes in the law onabortion and euthanasia.The Guild of St. Luke in New South Wales with its long term Master Dr TonyWilliams has continued to maintain its annual activities of a Mass for theirdeceased members, although the membership is static with increasing age of itsmembers. However it is looking to foster involvement with the new CatholicMedical School in the Sydney campus of the Notre Dame University Australia.Abortion Law Reform Victoria 2008The most pressing need in Australia is now for the members of the CatholicDoctor associations to resist changes in the laws that promote abortion andeuthanasia. Only a month ago the Victorian State Parliament passed the mostdraconian law on abortion in the Western World by a comfortable majority inboth Houses of Parliament.The feature of this Bill was, not only to decriminalize abortion, but also in theprocess to remove all constraints up to 24 weeks pregnancy. Beyond 24 weeksto term, it will only require the agreement of two doctors, again withoutstipulating the reasons.
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