Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Premier of New South Wales has said of the Prime Minister's $80 billion cuts to hospitals and schools:

The cuts have an immediate impact … what we are seeing in the next 12 months is hundreds and hundreds of hospital beds … impacted.

If the Premier of New South Wales knows the pain that the government's cuts will cause, why is the Prime Minister refusing to admit the damage he is inflicting?

Mr Hockey interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will desist. The Prime Minister has the call. We will have some silence.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, when we are talking about public hospital funding from this government, there is a nine per cent increase this year, a nine per cent increase the year after, a nine per cent increase the year after that, and a six per cent increase—

Ms King interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat is asked to desist!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in the final year of the budget. What is so wrong with nine per cent, nine per cent, nine per cent and six per cent? Where is the problem? We are increasing public hospital funding. Every single year, public hospital funding increases: by nine per cent this year, by nine per cent next year, by nine per cent the year after that and by six per cent the year after that.

The difference between this government and members opposite is that we want public hospital funding to be sustainable. We want public hospital funding to be sustainable. As for subacute beds, that was funding that the former government did not see fit to put in the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook. It did not see fit to put it in the pre-election fiscal outlook. All we get from members opposite is no solutions; all complaint. They are running the national complaints bureau and, frankly, the people of Australia are looking for better.