Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As many of us recall, March 26 was 'red tape repeal day'—by any measure, a red letter day for this government, business operators and workers from all across the country. This government has a very clear objective when it comes to red tape. As it is very clearly outlined in the Australian Government Guide to Regulation, this government seeks to ensure that regulation is never adopted as the default solution but rather is introduced as a means of last resort. The Health Workforce Australia (Abolition) Bill 2014 is another step on the way towards the government achieving its goal of stripping away unnecessary and wasteful red tape. The bill is intended to streamline the delivery of health workforce policy and programs by removing an unnecessary level of administration and bureaucracy that currently weighs down this very important component of health service delivery.

The Abbott government has detailed 10 principles for Australian government policymakers that should drive policy development now and into the future. Mr Deputy Speaker, I will share those with you so that they are on the record. No.1, regulation should not be the default option for policy makers. The policy option offering the greatest net benefit should always be the recommended option. No. 2, regulation should be imposed only when it can be shown to offer an overall net benefit. No. 3, the cost benefit of new regulation must be fully offset by reductions in existing regulatory burden. No. 4, every substantive regulatory policy change must be the subject of a regulation impact statement. No. 5, policymakers should consult in a genuine and timely way with affected businesses, community organisations and individuals. No. 6, policymakers must consult with each other to avoid creating cumulative or overlapping regulatory burdens. No. 7, the information upon which policymakers base their decisions must be published at the earliest opportunity. No. 8, regulators must implement regulation with common sense, empathy and respect. No. 9, all regulations must be periodically reviewed to test its continuing relevance. Finally, No. 10, policymakers must work closely with their portfolio deregulation units throughout the policymaking process.

It is a fairly safe bet that if these guidelines had been followed the Health Workforce Australia legislation would never have made it through the House. Over the past six Labor administrations, the health bureaucracy continued to increase in size, with no immediately obvious improvements in the delivery of health services. At last count, there were 21 stand-alone agencies operating outside the actual portfolio department. A bureaucracy of that size incurs significant costs to build up and maintain. This diverts much-needed resources from areas that directly benefit patients. The coalition government is determined to get every possible dollar away from administration and the bureaucratic process and back into front-line services, and the passage of this bill will assist in achieving this aim.

Health Workforce Australia, or HWA, was established under the now expired four-year National Partnership Agreement on Hospital and Health Workforce Reform, agreed by the Council of Australian Governments in November 2008. It is worth remembering that back in 2008, nationally, I think there was only one non-Labor government in power in Australia—and that is a sure-fire recipe for unnecessary regulation to bind the smooth operation of the bureaucracy. HWA was established to provide financial and other support for the delivery of clinical training and to carry out research, as well as to collect, analyse, and publish data relating to the health workforce. In addition, it was charged with developing and evaluating strategies for the development of the health workforce. It became operational in January 2010. All Australian governments were intended to provide funding to HWA; however, the states and territories have not contributed any funding, as was agreed.

The Commonwealth government has been the sole funder of HWA, committing $1.05 billion since its establishment. This is approximately $250 million a year, with no contribution from the jurisdictions. Should this bill be passed, programs and functions of the HWA will transfer to the Department of Health, which, I am advised, has the capacity to fulfil the agency's function. This government is not withdrawing support for the health workforce—far from it. It is, however, delivering on its commitment to reduce red tape and streamline programs. Savings will support front-line health services and programs—and what is really important here is front-line health services. It is what health funding should be doing—that is, putting resources into front-line health services.

The coalition has a strong record on making sensible investments in Australia's health and medical workforce. The previous Howard government invested in nine new medical schools, which have resulted in an increase in medical students graduating right now. I am further advised that the number of domestic school graduates per year has more than doubled since 1996. The Northern Territory Remote Clinical School, with sites in Alice Springs, Katherine and Nhulunbuy, was founded in 2005 and is part of the Northern Territory Medical Program. This initiative is run by Flinders University. It aims to give students the opportunity to take training in rural environments and also offers support to health professionals working in these remote teaching locations.

The coalition and, in particular, the health minister are committed to providing proper and responsible training for health practitioners. This government has committed to a doubling of the Practice Incentive Program payment, from $100 to $200, for each three-hour teaching session provided to a medical student. This provision directly benefits the teacher and will better compensate general practices for the consultation time they dedicate to teaching. It will also encourage more general practitioners to provide much needed teaching opportunities and will work to strengthen the future workforce. Approximately 3,000 practices are expected to provide PIP teaching sessions, which translates to about 20,000 students every year. A rural loading of up to 50 per cent will also be applied to payments to practices in rural and remote locations, which will be a fitting reward for the legion of GPs who service the Territory's bush centres.

The government is also investing $40 million in up to 100 additional medical internships each year in non-traditional settings, including private hospitals in regional areas. This will provide more certainty for students and alleviate pressure on public hospital training. I will certainly be working with the Darwin Private Hospital, in my electorate of Solomon, to secure some placements. I welcome the fact that priority will be given to positions and rotations outside major metropolitan centres. That is a welcome development, and I will make it my work to ensure that it works to the advantage of Territorians.

The coalition will provide infrastructure grants to general practices on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The intention is to leverage private investment and help ensure the efficient and productive use of resources. This is in stark contrast to the wasteful GP superclinic program, which saw promises and taxpayer dollars literally splashed around with precious little accountability to monitor what exactly was going on. The government has also committed to providing up to 175 grants for rural and remote general practices to expand facilities to support the teaching and training of medical students and registrars. This will be particularly beneficial when the construction of the Palmerston Hospital is completed. The grants of up to $300,000 will be provided to successful applicants and, again, will require a matched contribution from the practice. This measure will benefit the GPs, registrars, medical students and communities in regional remote and very remote Australia, where these grants will be targeted. It goes without saying that these practices face unusual challenges in the delivery of health services and health care, and it would be a great opportunity for medical students to experience life in rural or remote health practices. I hope it will also encourage students to pursue careers outside the comfort of metropolitan areas once they graduate.

Another measure which I hope will benefit families in Darwin and Palmerston is the planned expansion of GP training places. Australia wide, GP training places will increase by 300—from 1,200 to 1,500—in 2015. This will create more vocational training opportunities for this workforce and free up more junior doctor training positions for new graduates who are coming through. The Australian General Practice Training Program, which this commitment will expand, has a distribution target that requires half of training to occur in rural and remote locations. This government is making sensible changes to reduce the waste of duplication and bureaucracy so that sustainable investments can continue to be made in services or programs that benefit our health system and the future workforce. This can only work to the benefit of families, pensioners and workers in Darwin and Palmerston.

I commend the bill to the House.

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