Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senators who have contributed to the debate on the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Bill 2009 and confirm for those who may be listening to this debate that the government absolutely acknowledges that our health system is in desperate need of reform and that we need to deal with the health issues of the 21st century. I am not going to dignify Senator Birmingham’s contribution—some of the nonsense that he put forward was quite ridiculous. We could only begin to wonder how the coalition’s consultation process would have played out given the intensity of the issues and the concerns that Australian people have about our reform agenda and the situation with respect to health in Australia at the moment.

It is very clear that the Australian people understand that the Rudd government has a very ambitious three-pronged health reform agenda. It is a complex issue, one that the previous government shirked and short-changed for over a decade and one that our government has said it is determined to tackle. In opposing the passage of this bill today, those opposite have disgraced themselves on the issue of health. The government has undertaken three interlocking and complementary reviews via the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission and the national Preventative Health Taskforce.

A key part of their recommendation is the establishment of some infrastructure to guide, oversee and build the evidence base for more effective preventative health measures. The agency was scheduled to start work on 1 January next year, with $133 million allocated for its immediate work to fund research, to conduct public health campaigns and to develop contemporary national guidelines, standards, codes and other activities. One of the first tasks earmarked for the agency was to run a new, focused antismoking campaign and to conduct some translational research to reduce obesity—the scourge of the 21st century around the modern world. Just five days ago, we had Liberal Party support in the other place for this agency. The member for Dickson said:

The objective of preventative health measures to alleviate pressure on the public hospital system is rightly supported by both sides of politics.

But today what have we seen? We have seen Senator Cormann come in here and undermine his health spokesperson and move an amendment that is effectively about blocking the establishment of this agency.