EDITORIAL

Our arrival on your desktop is a bit later than we planned for this month of February 2004.

Most of our writers were still switched into "holiday mode", and I must admit, I was feeling much the same way.
However, I am now getting into the swing of things, my initial reluctance, I am sure, was due to the heavy workload I know I will have in 2004.

Not that anyone else is any different, we all seem to have lost our weekends again!

Reported this month is the sad passing of Kevin McAnuff and the significance of the work this pharmacist was quietly pursuing.
It is certain we will all be collectively poorer because of his passing.
The management at i2P wishes to express their condolences to the McAnuff family.

Many issues have slumbered on since December 2003, but the one that seems to be shaping up as the most significant one for 2004 is the adjustment being made to state laws under National Competition Policy (NCP), so that they correspond to federal government competition policies.
The NSW state government was recently fined $50.9 million, essentially because liquor laws were considered out of order, and it appears pharmacy laws will be tabled in the not too distant future.

This is when things can get out of hand.
The Wilkinson Report detailed the need for change some years ago, and very little movement has resulted.
Surely we could have emerged from our protectionist blanket and faced reality on our own terms?
There is the potential for overreaction by governments as they move to resolve our inertia on our behalf.

Rollo Manning has changed his style, which should prove more entertaining to readers, and Karalyn Huxhagen talks about competency standards.

We welcome a new writer in the form of Catherine Bronger, who is the current president of SUPA at Sydney University. She has been given the brief, previously held by Lachlan Rose, (former SUPA president), to highlight student issues and concerns.
Her first article makes interesting reading.

We look forward to highlighting pharmacy issues in 2004. There is never a dull moment!

Neil Johnston, February 2004

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