Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Why are health and hospital reform so critical for the budget and what are the consequences of continued opposition to the government’s saving measures?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his very important question because this side of the House is focused on providing and putting forward sustainable health reform to make sure that the health system does not buckle under its own weight. Indeed, there is plenty of evidence from the 12 years of those opposite that that is precisely what was happening as the Leader of the Opposition ripped over a billion dollars out of our hospital system.

We are determined to tackle this key intergenerational challenge. The challenge has been outlined before in two intergenerational reports, which were ignored by those opposite. But we on this side of the House take our responsibilities seriously. We understand there does need to be fundamental reform of our health and hospital system, in particular the funding of our health and hospital system. We need to ensure that the money is spent in the right place and in the right way. That is why the Prime Minister and the health minister have put forward this reform program.

But of course we must put the finances of this program on a sustainable footing. That is why the government have been very busy over the past couple of budgets, making sure that we made the savings that were necessary so that we can fund future investments. There was $55 billion worth of savings over two budgets and savings that have also been made in the area of health. We understand how important it is to run a strict fiscal policy, particularly when we are faced with the ageing of our population and the consequences of that for future budgets. But of course many of these savings have been opposed by those opposite. They have opposed the means testing of the private health insurance rebate at a cost to the budget bottom line of $2 billion. That, more than anything else, shows how irresponsible and reckless those opposite are when it comes to this essential task of funding health and hospital reform.

It is not just their opposition in the Senate to the means testing of the private health insurance rebate. As the minister previously said, there are at least half a dozen bills being blocked in the Senate with consequences for the fiscal stability of this country. Those opposite are turning out to be fiscal wreckers, and it is not just the opposition to the means testing of the private health insurance rebate. It is also their opposition to the attempts by the government to crack down on rorts in the chronic disease dental scheme, and that has been at a very significant cost to the budget.

This was a scheme announced by those opposite in 2007, and it was supposed to cost $377 million over four years. Of course, it has cost far more than that: it is going to cost something like $800 million over the last two years alone. We have repeatedly tried in the Senate to push this legislation through to stop the rorts at public expense which are going to the bottom line of our budget. They come into this House and pretend to be fiscally responsible, then go up into the Senate and behave as fiscal vandals. We cannot fund a sustainable health system with that attitude. They are incapable of doing the right thing by the families of Australia and they are incapable of putting in place a fiscal strategy which is responsible and which delivers for Australian families, particularly in terms of their health care. They are blowing a hole in the budget to the tune of $11 billion over the forward estimates and they pretend to be fiscally responsible. What they have proven is that they are financial wreckers incapable of managing the finances of this country.