Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for her question. I know that she is deeply concerned about health services in her community, not only today but for tomorrow. As she would be aware each and every year health costs continue to rise. I refer the House to some Treasury analysis: the Treasury projects that health spending alone will absorb more than the entire revenue collected by all states in around three decades. I think people should think about the force of that number and that if we do not act—if we continue to say to state governments that they should have the disproportionate responsibility for funding hospital costs—then, looking at the next 30 years, what we are saying is that it would take more revenue than the states actually collect. This is not a sustainable position.

We want Australians to have great health services today, decent health services, health services that meet their needs, and we want that to be the case in 10, 20 and 30 years time. In order to achieve that we need to deliver fundamental health reform, including the federal government stepping up to being the dominant funder of health. That is what our health reforms are all about. Those health reforms are about making sure that the federal government has the majority share for funding hospitals and that we fund primary care 100 per cent. Obviously, how well primary care, the first instance care that people need, is going determines the later burden on our hospitals, because too many people end up in hospital because they have not had the appropriate primary care at the right time.

To deliver this health reform, we have entered into an agreement with states and territories around the nation—we are still in discussion with Western Australia—and we need to legislate in this parliament.

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