Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Acting Prime Minister. I refer the Acting Prime Minister to a press release issued by the Minister for Health and Ageing in January this year announcing $43.3 million to cut hospital waiting lists in New South Wales. I refer also to figures from the New South Wales Department of Health which show that the average waiting time at hospitals has increased between April and June this year from 3.67 months to 4.15 months in Wagga and from 2.97 months to 3.39 months in Tweed Heads. Acting Prime Minister, does the buck still stop with your government on health?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question and I would recommend that if he, for whatever reason, was distracted when the Minister for Health and Ageing gave her answer earlier in question time he studies the Hansard. What he will find from that Hansard and what she confirmed to the parliament is that our new investments in elective surgery are ensuring people can get elective surgery: eye surgery, knee surgery and the like. We have seen more procedures undertaken than the minister thought was possible when she announced the funds. She had announced that 25,000 would be done and in fact 27,000 or more have been done and she is running in front of time. Since this government came to office we have invested an additional $1 billion in health for a set of purposes and an additional $600 million for another set of purposes. As the minister indicated, these have been tied to outcomes. Importantly, some of the outcomes that they have been tied to have been these elective surgery procedures.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I say to the shadow minister opposite that he may like to reflect how this track record of additional investment, particularly as we move towards the COAG meeting on Saturday, stands in stark contrast to the record of the Liberal Party, where the man sitting next to him used to wander around giving ‘rock-solid, ironclad guarantees’ only to have to back down on them because the things that were said to the Australian people at election time were never honoured by the Liberal Party in government. This government has taken a different approach. You sent your then minister for health out to give Australians a rock-solid, ironclad guarantee when they were voting and broke that promise.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question was very specific and related to the fact that people are waiting longer for surgery in New South Wales.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The response is relative to the question. There may be a little too much debate in it but that is allowable under the precedents of this place. I would remind the Acting Prime Minister of the requirement to address her remarks through the chair.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I make the simple point that in health as well as in other areas this is a government that keeps its word. This is a government that delivers on its commitments. This is a government that is putting in place the long-term foundation stones of reform. This is a government that is responding decisively to the global financial crisis.