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

I will be moving amendments in the committee stage of the bill. These also reflect amendments suggested by the Senate committee inquiry. The amendments will bring about a firm partnership between the Commonwealth and the states and territories in their endeavour to deliver better healthcare services to all Australians. The amendments to the bill will enshrine the independence of the authority giving it the ability to appoint its own chief executive officer as well as the power to remove that person in the case of poor performance or misconduct. Amendments will also foster greater cooperation with the states through consultation on the authority's strategic plan, consultation about reports of poor performance and the designation of local hospital networks. This shows that the government is committed to work with all jurisdictions on health reform and deliver an outcome that will put more information in the hands of Australian patients. I thank those members who have made constructive contributions to this debate. However, unfortunately, a number of members of the opposition have used their time to simply complain and criticise rather than to outline any plans they would use to deliver improvements to the health system. They have been consistently silent on their vision, except for a policy to wreak havoc on and cut health services.

It is a fact that this bill delivers on reforms that the Leader of the Opposition once talked about but never had the capacity to deliver. On 9 May 2008 he said the Howard government:

… would have empowered the public by requiring the states to publish detailed information about the specific performance of hospitals.

… … …

In return for continued funding increases, each state would have been required to provide detailed quarterly reports on the precise number and type of services delivered at each public hospital and to provide detailed quarterly reports on adverse events at each hospital.

So, while the opposition has an 'oppose everything' strategy, by not supporting this bill they will be opposing something that their leader himself once called for—although did not achieve in 11½ years.

We are now seeing the opposition, having no ideas of its own, continuing to play the easy game of trying to frustrate the government's significant reforms. This was highlighted earlier this year when the shadow minister took a similar approach in regard to the bill to establish the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, a body originally established, temporarily, by the Leader of the Opposition. Now we have had a bill before the House for some months, scrutinised and endorsed by committees in both the House and the Senate, and the best the opposition can come up with is saying that we should sit on it and not establish this important watchdog agency.

The shadow minister clearly knows that this agency is a key part of the health reform agenda and that this legislation has been endorsed by all the states and territories, including three Liberal states. He also clearly knows that this agency will have a watchdog role in scrutinising the performance of health services, whereas the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority will have a completely different role, an important technical and financial role, in determining the official price for hospital services. Rather than trying to wreck every bill, it might be worth the opposition's time to develop at least one health policy of its own.

Our government is determined to pursue the tough reforms, particularly when they involve more transparency for the Australian public. Standing on the shoulders of My School, My Hospitals and the work of the National Health Performance Authority, this agency will deliver for Australians unprecedented levels of nationally comparable information. It will also be a watchdog to detect poor performance in our public and private hospitals and primary care sector. I thank members for their contributions, my officials for their hard work and the states for their cooperation with these reforms. Question put:

That the amendment be agreed to.

The House divided. [10:30]

(The Speaker—Mr Harry Jenkins)

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to. Bill read a second time.

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