Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, in light of the failure of the state administration within New South Wales to deal with the obvious and urgent growth demands in New South Wales North Coast hospital emergency departments and in light of the highly questionable and flawed New South Wales state submission to the Health and Hospital Fund, can the Prime Minister update the House on the progress of my submission to the Health and Hospital Fund for funding for the Port Macquarie Base Hospital emergency department and intensive care unit expansion, which remains identified as the No. 1 capital works project on the North Coast by clinicians and health planners servicing one million North Coast residents but which for some reason remains off the radar of the state administration?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It should be privately owned.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I just heard the member for North Sydney interject, ‘It should still be privately owned.’ I would refer the member for North Sydney, who had something to do with the Greiner-Fahey government, to the report of the New South Wales Auditor-General, who reported into the privatisation of that hospital and remarked that, ‘The government of the time was paying for the hospital twice then giving it away.’

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s not right; it was actually—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney says the Auditor-General of New South Wales is completely wrong and that he, the member for North Sydney—the then adviser, I presume, to the then Premier of New South Wales—was right. I will let others account for the history of that.

The honourable member raises an important question about the state of the hospital at Port Macquarie. He asked specifically about an update on the progress of his submission to the Health and Hospitals Fund. I cannot give that to him. I will inquire after question time from the Minister for Health and Ageing as to the status of his submission. More broadly, could I say in response to the honourable member that the purpose of the Health and Hospitals Fund is to provide support for further injections into the public health system of Australia. I would note also for the record, in response to the honourable member’s question, that the fund is directly opposed by those opposite. Their position on investment at the national government level into the health and hospitals of Australia is that they refuse to take any role in sharing the burden. That is reflected in their vote and their participation in the debate on that fund when that matter was in the House some time ago. That is the first point.

The second point goes to the Council of Australian Governments, agreement on health and hospital funding, which was reached between the Commonwealth and the states at the end of last year. That agreement contained a $64 billion Australian healthcare agreement, which represented a 50 per cent increase on the previous healthcare agreement negotiated between the previous Liberal-National Party government and the states and territories. What has the opposition said about that COAG agreement? They have said they would not have signed it; they would not have provided that funding. This is where we get to the absolute core of the difference between our attitude to supporting investment in the health and hospital system of Australia and the attitude of those opposite. As part of that health and hospitals agreement, we provided $1.1 billion to train more doctors, nurses and other health professionals, $750 million to take pressure off emergency departments, $872 million for the first-ever preventative health partnership and half a billion in measures to provide additional subacute care. These are practical measures which the Commonwealth and the states and territories—Liberal and Labor—sat down and agreed together here in Parliament House in Canberra at the end of last year. But let it be stated clearly for the record that the member for North Sydney, the shadow Treasurer—and I am pretty sure it was on radio, Joe—said that he would not have signed that agreement. In other words, in reality what the member for North Sydney and the Liberal Party said to state and territory governments and to the 700-plus hospitals across the country was, ‘We are not going to be there at all.’

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I want to assist, Kevin, here and, in fact, point out that—

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

Order! The member for North Sydney has risen on a point of order and he must refer to members by their correct titles.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sorry. I want to assist the Prime Minister here and recognise that we said we would do it differently. We would not have—

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

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

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

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

The member for North Sydney is warned!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the member for North Sydney’s interjection because what the House would now want to know is which one in the $1.1 billion to train more doctors would he cut?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You say you would pay less. Which part would you pay less for? The $750 million to take pressure off emergency departments—would you cut that? I hear nothing. The $872 million for preventative health care—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

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

The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call. He will respond to the question.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So here we have yet another case study of the opposition trying to walk both sides of the street. The motto of this modern Liberal Party is capital ‘O’ Opportunism—sounding as if they are concerned about an issue but when it comes to the substantive matter—

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the point of order is on relevance. The member for Lyne asked a specific question about the Port Macquarie hospital. This diatribe has nothing whatever to do with it.

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

The Leader of the Nationals will resume his seat.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The quantum of Commonwealth government funding for health and hospitals is of direct relevance to what happens at the Port Macquarie hospital, through the whole range of funding which we provided through the COAG agreement at the end of last year. Obviously, the Leader of the Nationals thinks that he can just pluck a bit of money from under a carpet somewhere and it will mysteriously find its way into a hospital emergency department. We have a different view. We have invested in the future of health and hospitals. We have done so in our payments, particularly targeted to outcomes measures in emergency departments. This is practical stuff. Those opposite have been caught out because they say they would cut the amount of money to be provided to the states and territories in these areas but—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He is saying that investing in our hospitals is not spending money wisely. That is exactly what the shadow Treasurer is saying. I say this to the member for Lyne: in contrast to those who preceded him in the seat which he represents in this parliament, he has raised an important matter concerning the hospital in his electorate, and, in terms of the submission which he has provided to the Health and Hospitals Fund, which those opposite have opposed, I will come back to him on the status of the submission. I conclude by saying that those opposite (a) opposed the fund and (b) opposed the single largest Australian healthcare agreement signed between the Commonwealth government and the states. Once again, their hypocrisy is on full display.