Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Services) Share this | Hansard source

You can't deliver record funding to each and every state and territory year on year and as far as the eye can see for the provision of health services in our capital cities, in our public hospitals and in the regions without having a strong economy. Right now Australia, with its growth of over 3.4 per cent, is the envy of the G7, and that is as a result of us increasing employment, backing small business and having the policy settings to see more revenue delivered to government for us to spend on the things that Australians expect, need and deserve. Because of the strong economy, our government's commitment and relentless hard work are strong, and we've been able to make investments, for example, in the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, to improve health outcomes for people across regional Australia. That is an absolutely transformational way of training young people out in the regions. Instead of training in capital cities and dipping out to the regions, these young medical trainees will be embedded in our communities and serving them into the future.