Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The quantum of Commonwealth government funding for health and hospitals is of direct relevance to what happens at the Port Macquarie hospital, through the whole range of funding which we provided through the COAG agreement at the end of last year. Obviously, the Leader of the Nationals thinks that he can just pluck a bit of money from under a carpet somewhere and it will mysteriously find its way into a hospital emergency department. We have a different view. We have invested in the future of health and hospitals. We have done so in our payments, particularly targeted to outcomes measures in emergency departments. This is practical stuff. Those opposite have been caught out because they say they would cut the amount of money to be provided to the states and territories in these areas but—

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