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

The honourable member asked a question about taking responsibility for the system—the buck stopping with us. I am saying that in the period since the last election what we have done is increase hospital funding nationwide by 50 per cent—50 per cent. You took $1 billion out; we have injected 50 per cent extra in. What does that translate to in dollar terms? Over the five years of the Australian healthcare agreement, signed by me and the minister for health at the end of last year, there was an increase in funding to $64 billion over five years in health and hospitals. That is some $20 billion more. That is what I call action. The honourable member for Dickson seems to regard that as inaction. Their action was to take $1 billion out; our action was to put $20 billion in over five years. I regard that as a pretty basic thing.

Also on top of that, for the first time there was a $750 million investment in emergency departments, a $500 million investment for subacute care, $872 million in preventative care, and $600 million for elective surgery waiting lists. Also on top of the above, there was $1.1 billion for the health workforce. The honourable member asked about the health workforce, for example, because it is about taking responsibility. What did we inherit? We inherited a health workforce shortage affecting 60 per cent of Australians, a nursing shortage of 6,000 nurses nationwide, and GP training places capped at 600 per year since 2004. We inherited, as far as the Australian government was concerned, an entire catalogue of neglect. We have stepped up to the plate in the here and now, as reflected through the healthcare agreement signed by the minister at the end of last year and which is now operational. That is step 1.

Step 2 is long-term reform. What the health minister and I have done since the election is engage in a series of consultations with hospitals based on the report of the independent commission, the health reform commission chaired by Dr Christine Bennett. Those opposite say, ‘This is something extraordinary.’ Let me hear them say what their reform plan was in their 12 years in office. Can anyone tell me what it was? I say to the member for Dickson: what was the health reform plan of the previous government? You had 12 years to have one. I just do not remember one. There was not a health reform plan—nothing to do with the hospitals, nothing to do with the totality of the health system, nothing to do with systemic health reform. They wanted to play the blame game.

We said that we would commission an independent review. We did so. Christine Bennett concluded that, gave it to the government midyear, and we are now in the process of concluding consultations with about 80 public hospitals across Australia, right down the various centres along the Queensland coast, New South Wales and in every other state in the country. I think I have done nearly 20 of those myself, the health minister has done 40 or 50 herself, the assistant health minister and member for Lingiari has done the same, and of course so has our parliamentary secretary as well. Do you know why? We are road-testing the recommendations for long-term health reform with each of these hospital communities because we are determined to get this right. We believe health policy is important for the future because the health system is straining under the future demands imposed on it. Where we plan for the future, those opposite simply have a blame game for the past.

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