Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister update the House on how the government is delivering record funding on health, hospitals and medical research. Is there any obstacle to this?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fowler. He is very well aware of the importance of investment in health, particularly in health and medical research. We were out there just last year with the Prime Minister opening the new Ingham research institute in the member's electorate—a substantial investment from the Commonwealth but also a substantial investment from the Ingham family and others. We will continue to invest as a government in health and medical research because it pays off. You only need to look at the fine results we have had with our Gardasil vaccination program for girls and now boys, and the miracle of sound being brought to millions of children around the world with Cochlear implants.

We are also looking at how we can better embed health and medical research right across our health sector as recommended by the McKeon review. We will continue to invest but also change the way we do research. In this last budget we have invested in better support for clinical trials, and our funding for the Health and Medical Research Council continues to increase, from $771 million next year to $815 million in 2016-17—continued investment.

I am asked about obstacles and, I guess, the only obstacle is the opposition. We have heard from the opposition that they will quarantine health and medical research funding from budget cuts—flat-lining, quarantining, not cutting. Should we be really grateful that they are not taking the axe to it? Flat-lining would cost health and medical research—

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

You wanted to.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are increasing health and medical research funding. Flat-lining would cost the health and medical research community $88 million between now and 2016-17. Flat-lining is a cost because it means health and medical research funding does not keep up with growing expenses.

The other thing that this comment that they are quarantining health and medical research tells us is that everything else is on the chopping block. Are they going to quarantine funding for hospitals? Are they going to quarantine funding for medicines? Are they going to quarantine funding for health workforce training? Are they going to quarantine funding for bush services? No, none of these things are quarantined. I can tell you why. As health minister, the Leader of the Opposition cut health funding. He has been out there supporting Campbell Newman and the Victorian government and others when they cut health funding. He said that he will cut $1.2 billion from Medicare Locals, from primary health care—more recently that has been a little unpopular, so now he is hiding behind a review.

Now we have the member for Tangney talking about austerity. Austerity in health care means cutting funding. We have seen them backflip on private health insurance and I welcome that because that goes towards dental and towards disability care. From one day to the next, you cannot tell where the opposition are on health funding. They are tricky— (Time expired)