Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I love the shadow minister on this. He really wants to know how we made the decision about where the money was to go between the different states. I know why you are so intrigued about this. The process that we used to work out where the money would go is called negotiation. It is a process that is a mystery to those sitting opposite, because both the previous ministers, who were just zealots about industrial relations, have never heard of negotiation. They do not know what negotiating with the states is about. It is not a secret. It is not a secret that we were prepared to sit down with our state and territory colleagues, look at their population needs, look at their waiting lists, look at the money that there was and actually negotiate with them. There is nothing wrong with doing that. There is nothing wrong with sitting around a table and talking to state and territory health ministers about how together we will help hundreds of thousands of people around the country. That is what we did. I understand why it is a mystery to you, but I will tell you: it is delivering a lot more for working families.

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