Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

That is what you left us with. You left us with a nationwide doctor shortage, affecting 60 per cent of the Australian population, and 2,300 older Australians languishing in hospital beds every night when they should have access to aged-care homes. That is what the Liberals left us with. We have committed to fixing the hospital system. At the March 2008 COAG meeting, the Commonwealth committed an immediate allocation of $1 billion to relieve pressure for 2008-09 on public hospitals. This $1 billion is made up of the indexation of the previous Commonwealth allocation for 2007-08 plus a further $500 million in additional new money. (Time expired)