Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Health care is shaping up as one of the critical areas of difference in the contest between the Rudd government and the opposition to be decided at the forthcoming federal election. It will also be one of the biggest challenges facing Australia in the next 20 years as our population continues to age. The former Howard government’s legacy in health care has been underinvestment, a lack of vision and ripping $1 billion out of the public hospital system. In fact, that was the achievement of Tony Abbott, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was health minister. The Rudd government, instead, is planning for our future, investing in health and hospitals, and training the medical workforce to meet not only our current demand but our future demand as well.

Over the past two years this government has increased hospital funding by 50 per cent. I repeat: we did not rip a billion dollars out of the public hospital system; we increased funding by 50 per cent. That has been in just two years of this Rudd Labor government. This week, the Prime Minister announced an investment of $632 million over 10 years to deliver an additional 5,500 new or training places for general practitioners, 680 for medical specialists and 5,400 pre-vocational general practice training places. To date, the government has funded 1,000 additional undergraduate nursing and midwifery university places a year and supported 20 full-time-equivalent nurse practitioners and 20 midwifery scholarships to build the workforce of the future. Australians understand that we need more doctors and nurses if we are going to continue to provide the best standard of health care. Under the Howard government and the now Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, when he was health minister, GP places were capped and nursing places were capped.

I want to put on record—and I am sure the honourable member for Werriwa will agree with me—that the University of Western Sydney is well placed to handle additional training places not only for doctors but also for nurses. I can say that we were both very proud—certainly I was—to be at the opening of the medical faculty of the University of Western Sydney at Campbelltown by the Deputy Prime Minister. I will never forget the speech given by a young lad from Western Sydney who was given an opportunity to train as a doctor. And we are going to be giving many more—(Time expired)