Melissa Sweet

@melissasweetdr.bsky.social

5.2K followers 1.7K following 4.8K posts

Journalist sharing news on health in all policies, First Nations health, health equity, social determinants of health and climate justice. Based in Australia, and providing local, national and global coverage. Editor in Chief, Croakey Health Media (NFP) .. more

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Melissa Sweet is an Australian journalist and nonfiction writer. Formerly employed by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin magazine, and Australian Associated Press, she specialises in writing about human health and medicine. .. more

Public Health 31%

Medicine 20%

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Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

Check some of the quotables from our first @croakeynews.bsky.social bulletins for the year.
Read more here: croakey.org

Subscribe here, to support independent media:
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Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 1d

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Julie Inman Grant: The woman tasked with kicking Australian kids off social media

After decades working in the private tech industry, Julia Inman Grant now finds herself on the other side.

www.bbc.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 1d

Washington Post publisher Will Lewis abruptly resigns amid criticism of staff cuts

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Washington Post publisher Will Lewis abruptly resigns amid criticism of staff cuts

Departure comes days after newspaper laid off nearly one-third of staff, including more than 300 journalists

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 1d

Bob Woodward says he is ‘crushed’ by Washington Post layoffs

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Bob Woodward says he is ‘crushed’ by Washington Post layoffs

Watergate reporter says colleagues and readers ‘deserve more’ after newspaper lays off hundreds of workers

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 1d

How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters

Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 1d

GetUp hires David Sharaz for senior role as it takes on ‘democratic threat’ of conservative groups

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

GetUp hires David Sharaz for senior role as it takes on ‘democratic threat’ of conservative groups

Progressive organisation will focus on combating far-right groups and pushing for policy wins in the lead-up to the 2028 election

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 2d

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Winds in excess of 200km/h forecast as Pilbara braces for Tropical Cyclone Mitchell

While avoiding a direct hit, Karratha is still expected to feel the force of the category three cyclone as it tracks along the Pilbara coast tonight.

www.abc.net.au

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 2d

Professor Lorena Allam:
Invasion Day is about Indigenous people’s survival, our resilience. To strike at the heart of that is a hate crime

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Invasion Day is about Indigenous people’s survival, our resilience. To strike at the heart of that is a hate crime | Lorena Allam

It’s past time for governments to help stop the ongoing racist violence directed at our communities

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

Public-good science is being squeezed, and health is part of the fallout
www.croakey.org/public-good-...
Jason Staines reviewed dozens of submissions to an inquiry into funding and job cuts at CSIRO
#AusPol

Public-good science is being squeezed, and health is part of the fallout

Submissions to an inquiry into funding and job cuts at CSIRO raise important questions about the future of Australian science,

www.croakey.org

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

If this is to be the year for positive change for planetary health equity, what will it take?
www.croakey.org/if-this-is-t...
By Professor Sharon Friel and Chelsea Hunnisett, who outline the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the health of people and planet.

If this is to be the year for positive change for planetary health equity, what will it take?

Introduction by Croakey: Engaged academics, a healthy fourth estate, and a noisy civil society are critical if we are to

www.croakey.org

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

Organisations & experts call for wider action to protect safety & wellbeing of First Nations people
www.croakey.org/organisation...
By Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention, Uluru Statement from the Heart Co-Chair Pat Anderson, AHCWA, ANTAR.

Organisations and experts call for wider action to protect safety and wellbeing of First Nations people

In the wake of a terrorist charge being laid against a 31-year-old man accused of throwing a homemade bomb into

www.croakey.org

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

Latest #ICYMI: preventing cancer, surviving extreme heat, taking on Big Tech, defending human rights – and healthcare matters
www.croakey.org/icymi-preven...
Focus global, local and national...

ICYMI: preventing cancer, surviving extreme heat, taking on Big Tech, defending human rights – and healthcare matters

The column this week highlights the wide-ranging forces that undermine our collective health and wellbeing, as well as profiling individuals

www.croakey.org

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

New book takes a deep dive into lessons from the Voice referendum. Professors Gabrielle Appleby & Megan Davis edited 'The Failure of the Voice Referendum and the Future of Australian Democracy'.
www.croakey.org/new-book-tak...
#CroakeyREAD

New book takes a deep dive into lessons from the Voice referendum

Introduction by Croakey: Professor Gabrielle Appleby and Professor Megan Davis have edited a new book, The Failure of the Voice

www.croakey.org

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

@lrussellwolpe.bsky.social

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

The Health Wrap: on the year of lies, healthcare in India, failures in aged care – and entrancing views – Croakey Health Media www.croakey.org/the-health-w...

The Health Wrap: on the year of lies, healthcare in India, failures in aged care – and entrancing views

In her first column for 2026, Dr Lesley Russell provides a detailed update on the Trump Administration, warning that while

www.croakey.org

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

Searching for details of the National Health Reform Agreement… – Croakey Health Media www.croakey.org/searching-fo...
By @charlesmk.bsky.social

Searching for details of the National Health Reform Agreement…

Introduction by Croakey: In radio interview this morning, the Minister with many portfolios, Mark Butler, said that all of the

www.croakey.org

Reposted by Melissa Sweet

Michael Woodhead @michaelwood8.bsky.social · 3d

With the US CDC now taken over by cranks and MAGA political operatives, Australia's responses to pandemic risks are now being assisted by China's evidence-based infectious disease teams www.themonthly.com.au/february-202...

Reposted by Melissa Sweet

Prof Geoff Hanmer @geoff-hanmer.bsky.social · 3d

There is something very odd happening to Labor leaders. They seem to think that inviting the President of Israel to Australia will help heal trauma while inviting an Australian of Palestinian descent to a literary festival will cause division. Is this stupidity or capture?

Reposted by Melissa Sweet

Health Nerd @gidmk.bsky.social · 3d

This is a very cool study and, as far as I can tell from a quick read, robust.

Statins probably don't cause most of the side-effects that people think they do.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Assessment of adverse effects attributed to statin therapy in product labels: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomised controlled trials

Adverse event data from blinded randomised trials do not support causal relationships between statin therapy and most of the conditions (including cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disturbance, ...

www.thelancet.com

Reposted by Melissa Sweet

Adrian Esterman @profesterman.bsky.social · 3d

COVID notifications in South Australia are very low for summer. Why?
Short answer: this says more about surveillance than about the virus disappearing.

Reposted by Melissa Sweet

Public Health Association of Australia @publichealthaus.bsky.social · 3d

VIDEO: This ABC 7:30 story on landfill and a proposed incinerator in regional NSW features expert commentary from our member @peterwtait.bsky.social
#PublicHealth #risk

youtu.be/MHOC5tSSFhE?...

Landfill crisis spilling out of our cities into regional communities | 7.30

YouTube video by ABC News In-depth

youtu.be

Reposted by Melissa Sweet

Kon Karapanagiotidis @kkarapanagiotidis.bsky.social · 3d

Men are nowhere near outraged enough about the Epstein Files.

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

“True safety is not built by sweeping dissent from the streets. It is built by defending the right of every citizen to peacefully call for justice, while ensuring that no one is subjected to intimidation, harassment or violence.”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Jewish Australians must be safe from fear or harassment. But shielding Isaac Herzog from legitimate protest is not the answer | George Newhouse

Allowing fair and peaceful criticism of a foreign head of state, even amid a deeply fraught Middle Eastern crisis, is not antisemitism

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

Big tech, miners and the financial sector: who gave most money to political parties before the 2025 election?

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Donors gave $131m before Australia’s 2025 election. Here’s who they are

Mining, resources and big fossil fuels donated more than $10m, or $62m if Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy donation to his Trumpet of Patriots party is included

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

NSW chief justice says former PM's criticism of Harbour Bridge march judge ‘misconceived and ignorant’

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

NSW chief justice says Tony Abbott’s criticism of Harbour Bridge march judge ‘misconceived and ignorant’

Andrew Bell says it’s ‘regrettable’ that former PM suggested judge had made a ‘political judgment’ regarding pro-Palestine protest in August

www.theguardian.com

Melissa Sweet @melissasweetdr.bsky.social · 3d

As another media organisation folds in Australia, a call for urgent action to improve funding and sustainability & to "stem the flow of small, independent publishers bleeding out of Australia's news landscape"
mailchi.mp/piji/piji-no...

Tough industry conditions claim another casualty

mailchi.mp