Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Don't they love the big lies about health on that side of the aisle? The very poor contributions we've heard from those opposite today reflect the fact that they have learned absolutely nothing from the recent federal election. They still now in this place seek to peddle the same lies and deception they peddled during the federal election campaign, which have been repudiated and rejected by the electorates of Australia in the country and in the cities.

What was endorsed and backed at the last federal election was record funding for public hospitals right across Australia, including in country Australia and in Central West New South Wales. It has gone from $13.3 billion in 2012-13—that's record spending for our public hospitals and real results on the ground—up to $21 billion in 2018-19 and rising to $26.2 billion in 2022-23. That record funding for our public hospitals was overwhelmingly endorsed at the last federal election in the face of the big lies and the big scare campaigns. Remember we had the Mediscare campaign. Then they tried to run a big scare campaign on health, where they said funding to public hospitals had been cut, but this record funding was endorsed right across New South Wales and Australia.

Indeed we saw terrific results in all country seats, particularly in New South Wales, where the margin in Calare rose to 63.29 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, a great increase in the margin. In Riverina it rose to 69.48 per cent; in Lyne, 65.17 per cent—wasn't that a terrific result!—in Parks, 66.91 per cent; Cowper, 56.79 per cent and a great new member; in Page, a terrific result, up 7.51 per cent to 59.45 per cent; and, in New England, a very healthy 64.36 per cent. But, in spite of all those increases, we need to make mention of the gold medal performer in the last federal election, the record breaker

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