The pressures from an ageing population on the rising costs of healthcare in Australia will be the subject of the third annual Menzies Oration held at The Australian National University.

Mr Gary Banks AO, Chairman of the Productivity Commission, discussed the escalating budgetary pressures governments face from the increase in healthcare demand and costs.

Mr Banks suggested that there is potential to raise productivity and reduce costs through policy initiatives in a number of areas of healthcare. A more cost-effective health system, rather than merely cost containment, must be the objective, he argued.

The annual Menzies Oration aims to encourage open public debate on key health policy issues in Australia. It is presented by The Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Practice, a collaborative undertaking between The Australian National University and the University of Sydney.

The Centre was established in 2006 by a grant from the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation and aims to provide Australians with a better understanding of their health system and what it provides.

"Our aim is to bring independent, informed and balanced debate into Australia's health policy," says Co-Director of the Centre and Executive Director of ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences Mr Robert Wells.

"We provide information to Australians about how they can influence health policy to ensure that it is consistent with their values and priorities and is able to deliver safe, high quality health care that is sustainable in the long term," he said.