House debates

Monday, 4 December 2006

Committees

Health and Ageing Committee; Report

1:10 pm

Photo of Alex SomlyayAlex Somlyay (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, I present the committee’s report entitled The blame game: report on the inquiry into health funding, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper

It gives me great pleasure to table the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing for its inquiry into health funding. A common complaint to members of parliament is that, when people are unhappy about their health care, both the Commonwealth and the states blame each other for the failings of the health system.

While the associated political grandstanding often makes for some good headlines, the blame game does not benefit patients.

People do not care which level of government manages or pays for their health care—they want reliable access to quality care. Addressing the blame game will involve a national approach to developing and funding health care. This will require leadership from the Australian government, with cooperation by the states and a joint commitment to end the blame game. The complexity of health delivery and financing, the rate of development of new health technologies and rising community expectations mean that ongoing reform is needed.

A key recommendation of the committee is that the Australian government needs to provide leadership in developing a ‘national health agenda’, in consultation with the states and territories.

The national health agenda should develop a range of national standards and principles that guide funding arrangements. It should also provide a clear articulation about what the community can expect to receive from the health system, including the extent to which rationing is acceptable.

I welcome the Australian government’s recent commitment to address the underinvestment in training places over the past 15 to 20 years. This should address the concerns of many inquiry participants about reduced access to health services.

Attention now needs to be paid to ensuring that there are sufficient clinical training opportunities in both the public and private sectors for rising numbers of health trainees. The committee proposes that the Australian government becomes a ‘purchaser’ of clinical training from both the public and private sectors rather than relying on the states’ goodwill. The current five-year Australian healthcare agreements expire on 30 June 2008 and governments are considering options for reform.

The committee supports some change from the current funding model to remove barriers to health reform and more closely link funding with national policy standards and accountability for quality health care.

Many local councils have taken up some slack and make a significant contribution to providing access to health services. Funding arrangements should more closely address the healthcare needs of people living in regional and rural areas.

One key objective of undertaking this inquiry was to allow for a transparent discussion with organisations and individuals outside government about their ideas on health funding.

The inquiry gave the community an important avenue for input into health policy development. This opportunity was denied in other significant health reviews undertaken at the same time as this inquiry—by the Council of Australian Governments and by a task force led by Mr Andrew Podger. It was particularly pleasing to receive submissions and hear evidence from the governments of the ACT, Victoria, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. Unfortunately, other state governments did not choose to make a direct contribution to the inquiry—but did voice opinions in the media.

During the course of the inquiry, there were significant problems in the Queensland health system, including allegations of misconduct in Bundaberg Hospital by the so-called Dr Death. The people of Queensland deserve better—and it is clear that significant reform is needed within Queensland Health to ensure that there is no repeat of the horrors allegedly allowed to be practised by Dr Patel.

Compiling such a comprehensive report relies on the assistance of many people. I thank the many individuals and organisations who assisted by making a submission or giving evidence at a hearing. Their expertise and experience is greatly valued and they laid a strong foundation for our deliberations.

I must thank my fellow committee members for the assistance they provided during the course of the inquiry—in particular, the deputy chair, Jill Hall MP. I would also like to thank Mr Ian Bigg, a secondee from the Department of Health and Ageing, for his invaluable contribution to the report—and, of course, the minister and the department for making this possible. The staff of the secretariat provided an enormous amount of help in this inquiry. It is one of the most difficult and complex inquiries I have been involved with in my 17 years in parliament and I pay tribute to the secretariat, which provided us with an enormous amount of help.

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