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

I thank the member for Chifley for his question, because he and the member for Greenway, who asked the previous question, have been absolutely passionate advocates of health services in their electorates, not just in lobbying and arguing for investments in their local hospitals but also in e-health, in the Medicare Locals and in obesity programs like the Stephanie Alexander kitchen program. All of these projects are rolling out in their communities as we speak.

It is not surprising that members on this side of the House have been pleased by, and acknowledged and seen the benefits of, our early investments when we were elected to office—a 50 per cent increase in health expenditure compared to that paid by the previous government. Of course, then there are the historic reforms negotiated by the Prime Minister—another nearly $20 billion that is going into the system, with $3.4 billion of that right now. It is hard not to make the comparison that all these extra investments in beds, in GP services and in extra clinics, compared with when you pull money out of the system, are delivering benefits to patients—

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