Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. I refer to his failure to outline any plan for the future education needs of Australian preschoolers in response to the previous question. I refer now, Prime Minister, to Labor’s $2 billion national health and hospital reform plan dealing with the future challenges of the ageing population, the growing burden of chronic disease and ending the blame game between Canberra and the states. Prime Minister, apart from taking over one hospital in one seat in one state, what is the Prime Minister’s plan?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me deal first of all with Labor’s alleged plan. At no stage has the Leader of the Opposition outlined to the Australian people what the funding arrangements might be. It remains the case that, if the Commonwealth takes over every public hospital in this country, there will need to be a massive realignment of Commonwealth-state financials. You are looking at 40 per cent of the money that flows from the Commonwealth to the states and, if the Leader of the Opposition is to have any credibility on this policy, he has to either tell the states that he will take that money away from them or tell the Australian people that, in government, he would unite with state Labor premiers to increase the level of the goods and services tax.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Adams interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyons is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is the choice that the Leader of the Opposition has to face. He pretends that he has a policy.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Swan is warned too!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is no more than a flimsy press release. You cannot have a credible policy unless you explain to the Australian people how it will be funded. If you raise the possibility of taking over public hospitals, you have to tell the Australian people how you are going to fund that takeover. Are you going to take the money back from the states or are you going to increase the GST? You have a choice. I would say to those who sit opposite—

Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mrs Irwin interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fowler is warned!

Bob McMullan (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Federal/State Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point or order. The question was designed to find out what the Prime Minister’s plan is.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. That is not a point of order.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition prefaced his question by reference to Labor’s policy—

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Roxon interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gellibrand is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and I said that I would first deal with Labor’s policy and then I would deal with the government’s. The question I put, rhetorically, to the Leader of the Opposition is: if you are going to take over 762 public hospitals, you have to explain to the Australian public how you are going to fund that takeover. Either you must take billions of dollars away from the states—and I know that you would not have the guts to take a penny away from a state Labor Premier—or, alternatively, you should concede that, in government, you might unite with Labor premiers to increase the level of the GST. It has been calculated that you would need a 40 per cent rise in the GST in order to fund this takeover. The Leader of the Opposition cannot slide away from public scrutiny on this policy. It is not enough—

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Owens interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Parramatta will remove herself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Parramatta then left the chamber.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition asked me about government health policy. Let me start by invoking the words of my friend and colleague the Minister for Health and Ageing: the Howard government is the best friend that Medicare has ever had. Under this government’s changes to bulk-billing arrangements—and I remember when those who sat opposite only talked about bulk-billing levels; it was their constant mantra that bulk-billing has fallen under this government—the truth is that, for people over the age of 65, for children under the age of 16 and for people living in remote and regional areas of Australia, bulk-billing levels are higher than they have ever been since the introduction of Medicare.

I then move from bulk-billing to the Medicare safety net. The Medicare safety net is going to be abolished by the Labor Party. The Medicare safety net guarantees that, for average families, after your out-of-pocket expenses go beyond $500 a year, you get an 80 per cent refund under Medicare. That was a policy that we introduced. It was a policy that was voted against by the Labor Party. It is a policy that they are still pledged to repeal. The Leader of the Opposition asked me about our policies. I am very, very happy to go on. That is our policy. Our policy is to keep the safety net; Labor’s policy is to abolish the safety net. Our policy is to drive bulk-billing levels in the areas I have mentioned to record highs; Labor is now left silent on the issue of bulk-billing. We have continued to maintain a world-class pharmaceutical benefits scheme. We have invested more money, year after year, in medical research in this country. I am proud of the medical research credentials of this government.

Bob McMullan (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Federal/State Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr McMullan interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fraser is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We put $486 million in the 2007-08 budget on top of the $905 million in the 2006-07 budget. We provided an additional $380 million for dental services under Medicare in the last budget. We are contributing in many areas in cooperation with the states. For example, we have established the National Health Call Centre Network. We have provided $94 million a year for after-hours care, supporting over 160 after-hours GP practices, and substantially increased the Medicare rebate for GP attendances after hours. We have funded over 20 co-located general practice after-hours clinics. And, of course, importantly—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Swan has been warned. He continues to interject. He will remove himself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Swan then left the chamber.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Perhaps as significant as any of the policies that we have introduced and that we are guaranteed to maintain is, of course, the private health insurance rebate. One of the first things the Leader of the Opposition did when he entered the parliament after the 1998 election was to vote against the private health insurance rebate. The election was held in October 1998. The introduction of the 30 per cent rebate was part of our election policy, and it was passed through the parliament, only with the help of the then Senator Brian Harradine. The Labor Party, including the newly elected member for Griffith—virtually his first act in this parliament—voted against tax help for private health insurance.

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Prime Minister has been going for 10 minutes and has not told us what his hospital plan is for the future.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume her seat. That is not a point of order. I remind the member for Gellibrand that she already has a warning.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just remind the House that the first significant vote in which the Leader of the Opposition participated was to vote against the introduction of the private health insurance rebate. He did it within weeks of being elected to parliament. Of course, he was to exceed himself some months later when he voted against the tax package and declared that we were approaching a day of fundamental injustice—fundamental injustice day. Could I just say to the Leader of the Opposition: if he would like to ask me another question on health, I would be delighted to continue outlining the government’s record.