Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Nash. I refer to the Specialist Training Program which provides training for Australia's future medical specialists, particularly in rural and regional areas. Will the government deliver 900 specialist training positions through to 2017?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are a number of programs, at the moment, being considered in terms of their future funding and that is one of them. But what I say to the senator is to point out what we are doing for rural and regional Australia when it comes to health. Indeed, it is a far greater contribution than we ever saw from those opposite in government. We only have to look at what we saw in the last budget—$238 million to double the practice incentive payment program. This was something those out in rural communities in the health sector had been calling on for some time and it took this coalition government to deliver it. There is $52.5 million for infrastructure to expand teaching provision in those general practices. They are the types of things—

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order: relevance. My question was very specific, and it was: will the government deliver 900 specialist training positions through to 2017?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Urquhart. I was listening carefully to the minister's answer. She indicated that particular program was one of the programs under consideration, so it has been directly answered in part. I call the minister; she has one minute and 14 seconds in which to respond.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those specialist training places are important in rural areas—indeed, specialist training is very important in our rural and regional areas. That is why I went on to expand on what we are actually doing in rural and regional areas, which is something this government is very focused on—unlike those opposite when they were in government. Things like 500 additional places for nursing and allied health—nothing like what we saw from those opposite when they were in government. For them to raise, now, the issue of specialist training when they were in government and it was something—

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order: direct relevance to the question. The question was specifically about the 900 specialist training positions. Will the government meet that target by 2017? There are only 38 seconds left, Mr President.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a difficult point of order because the minister has really answered the question. She has not necessarily answered it in the way you would like; but you can take out of the minister's answer that it is under consideration and there will be no guarantee. I can only invite the minister to continue her answer.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When it comes to specialist training and the considering of those types of things, it is this government that is going to do a far better job than the previous Labor government did when they were in government. You only have to go and talk to the medical sector to know that it is those types of things that the coalition is focused on—in complete contrast to those opposite when they were in government.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I thank you for answering the question that the minister did not. I now ask a supplementary question. Can the minister confirm that organisations have not yet been told that their contracts for these training positions will continue post June 2015? I would again ask the minister: will the government deliver 900 specialist training programs through to 2017? 'Yes' or 'no' would be wonderful on that one.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not think I can be any clearer than say again to the Senate that that particular issue is being considered by government. I do not know how many times I have to say that to those opposite before they might actually understand the sentence that is in front of them. Perhaps the senator would listen to the answer of the first question and perhaps maybe rejig her supplementary question so that it actually reflects something that has not already been answered. It is this coalition government that is going to deliver a strong health system and a strong health sector. Indeed it was the previous Labor government that left this government in an absolute mess not only in the areas of health but right across the board. It left us on a trajectory of debt of nearly $667 billion. It is this coalition that is going to deliver when it comes to health.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I refer to the Royal Australian College of Physicians who say that over the half their college specialist training program positions 'rotate through rural and remote areas and almost a quarter through Indigenous communities'. These benefits would be jeopardised should funding not continue and contracts not signed in the near future. When will the minister provide certainty to trainees and their training providers?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, this is under consideration. I am not sure for those opposite how long it is actually going to take for that to get through but that is indeed the case. When it comes to rural and regional affairs and when it comes to Indigenous affairs, it is this government that is delivering $3.1 billion for Indigenous health. And guess what? It is $500 million more than we saw under the previous Labor government. That is what this government is doing for issues like Indigenous health. And when it comes to rural and regional affairs, we only have to go through the extensive list of programs. It is this coalition government that is having to fix the Labor mess we got left with in the GP rural incentive payment program. It was a complete mess that this coalition government had to fix. When we look at district of workforce shortage, also in rural and regional areas, it was this coalition government that had to fix Labor's mess—as we are having to do in so many areas.