Public health activists despair of the prospects of an adequate strategy to tackle chronic disease, described as "Australia's greatest health challenge" by the government's Reform of the Federation White Paper. And it is probably our own fault.

That's not to say the odds aren't stacked against us, the Abbott government having almost entirely dismantled Australia's national preventive health system.

Public health advocates seeking policy change to mitigate the risks of smoking, consuming alcohol, poor diet and sedentary behaviour need to become much more demanding. Credit:Nic Walker

It terminated the $370 million National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health which funded various programs, including the successful public health campaign behind Ararat's transformation from being one of Australia's fattest towns. (The exposure of the Assistant Minister for Health's chief of staff's conflicts of interest saved front-of-pack food labelling from a similar fate.)

It closed the Australian National Preventive Health Agency and transferred its funding to the Department of Health, where the dollars have simply disappeared.