Mr HENDERSON - 2001-06-05
Minister, last week’s budget papers estimated the outcome for the 2000-01 health budget as $436m. The Treasurer’s quarterly financial statement for March was released nine days before the budget, indicating that actual expenditure for 2000-01 is likely to be $462m, $26m more than your budget papers predicts. You announced a funding increase of $11m in the health budget this year. The fact is, that based on the Treasurer’s statement, Health will start the new financial year $15m in the red. The Health budget is in crisis, and I seek leave to table a memo which was circulated to Health last year.
Leave granted.
Mr HENDERSON: This memo states:
As you are all aware, THS has had budget restrictions in place for some time. These restrictions are to continue for the foreseeable future, including into the new financial year. The continuing curtailment of discretionary expenditure applies to staffing, discretionary travel, and operations …
Mr Burke: We thought he had a question.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is the member getting to the nub of the question?
Mr HENDERSON: This is a budget of deceit. What health programs and services will be cut to recover your $15m funding shortfall next financial year?
ANSWER
I wonder, Mr Speaker, how come the Chief Minister has to answer every question that the Leader of the Opposition sends across, and yet ...
Mr Toyne: Yes, you would like to duck this one, wouldn’t you?
Mr DUNHAM: Well, I think it is a question that maybe the Leader of the Opposition should have asked, if it is that important.
The important thing with budgets is to make sure you are comparing like with like, as the Treasurer pointed out to the Leader of the Opposition in the last question. And the like I will compare is exactly this time last year. There was a budget paper and it had a number written in it for Territory Health Services - that was $432m. This year, last week, we had another budget paper produced and it had a figure in it of $446m. And that demonstrates, for those who do maths, that there has been an increase of some $14m.
Now, there will be some who say that that figure of $432m has changed during the year, and that is true. That is true, it is a very good point that the budget that the Treasurer brings down, on occasion, changes during the year. And the nub of the question of the opposition health spokesman is to the effect that will there be programs cut as a result of some of the money I have spent this year not being spent next year. The answer is yes.
I hope that we do not have the floods in Daguragu and Borroloola. I hope we do not have the same rota virus that has had some 60 children on drips in Alice Springs Hospital. I hope that we don’t have to find that money again for some of the drugs that were pinched from our pharmacy in Alice Springs,. I would hope that some of the levels of acuity that are coming through, we can reduce, with our preventable chronic diseases program.
So, in essence, what happens is, the Treasurer gives me some money in a budget, and he writes that number down, and it was $432m. This year he has done the same thing and the number is $446m. Now, everybody can see that is a vast differential. If the nub of the question goes to variations that occurred during the year, I can guarantee you there will be variations that occur again this year. We may be unfortunate enough to experience another case of rota virus. We have Aboriginal people, young Aboriginal kids in parlous circumstances, coming in from the bush and on drips in Alice Springs Hospital. An all-points bulletin went out to nurses in interstate hospitals, and we flew them in, and we paid for them.
The other issue relates to financial management in the department, and that is also true. A memo did go out purporting to withdraw delegations. And if the honourable member’s sources are as good as he would claim in this House, he would have seen that that memo was, on the same day, also withdrawn. It was - and I am happy to say in this House, it was - I think, a fairly clumsy way of addressing financial circumstances within the department. If you look at what it was trying to do, it was portraying to staff that, notwithstanding we have an addition of $14m next year, that the calls on the Health budget are indeed enormous, and it is incumbent on every one of us to make sure we can reduce those costs where we can.
I give praise to those members of executive in terms of health services who grapple with this issue every day. The calls for additional funding is in every area, virtually every person that commentates on the health budget talks about additional funding being required. for those commentators listening to this broadcast, I will give them two numbers, $432m last year $446m this year.
Leave granted.
Mr HENDERSON: This memo states:
As you are all aware, THS has had budget restrictions in place for some time. These restrictions are to continue for the foreseeable future, including into the new financial year. The continuing curtailment of discretionary expenditure applies to staffing, discretionary travel, and operations …
Mr Burke: We thought he had a question.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is the member getting to the nub of the question?
Mr HENDERSON: This is a budget of deceit. What health programs and services will be cut to recover your $15m funding shortfall next financial year?
ANSWER
I wonder, Mr Speaker, how come the Chief Minister has to answer every question that the Leader of the Opposition sends across, and yet ...
Mr Toyne: Yes, you would like to duck this one, wouldn’t you?
Mr DUNHAM: Well, I think it is a question that maybe the Leader of the Opposition should have asked, if it is that important.
The important thing with budgets is to make sure you are comparing like with like, as the Treasurer pointed out to the Leader of the Opposition in the last question. And the like I will compare is exactly this time last year. There was a budget paper and it had a number written in it for Territory Health Services - that was $432m. This year, last week, we had another budget paper produced and it had a figure in it of $446m. And that demonstrates, for those who do maths, that there has been an increase of some $14m.
Now, there will be some who say that that figure of $432m has changed during the year, and that is true. That is true, it is a very good point that the budget that the Treasurer brings down, on occasion, changes during the year. And the nub of the question of the opposition health spokesman is to the effect that will there be programs cut as a result of some of the money I have spent this year not being spent next year. The answer is yes.
I hope that we do not have the floods in Daguragu and Borroloola. I hope we do not have the same rota virus that has had some 60 children on drips in Alice Springs Hospital. I hope that we don’t have to find that money again for some of the drugs that were pinched from our pharmacy in Alice Springs,. I would hope that some of the levels of acuity that are coming through, we can reduce, with our preventable chronic diseases program.
So, in essence, what happens is, the Treasurer gives me some money in a budget, and he writes that number down, and it was $432m. This year he has done the same thing and the number is $446m. Now, everybody can see that is a vast differential. If the nub of the question goes to variations that occurred during the year, I can guarantee you there will be variations that occur again this year. We may be unfortunate enough to experience another case of rota virus. We have Aboriginal people, young Aboriginal kids in parlous circumstances, coming in from the bush and on drips in Alice Springs Hospital. An all-points bulletin went out to nurses in interstate hospitals, and we flew them in, and we paid for them.
The other issue relates to financial management in the department, and that is also true. A memo did go out purporting to withdraw delegations. And if the honourable member’s sources are as good as he would claim in this House, he would have seen that that memo was, on the same day, also withdrawn. It was - and I am happy to say in this House, it was - I think, a fairly clumsy way of addressing financial circumstances within the department. If you look at what it was trying to do, it was portraying to staff that, notwithstanding we have an addition of $14m next year, that the calls on the Health budget are indeed enormous, and it is incumbent on every one of us to make sure we can reduce those costs where we can.
I give praise to those members of executive in terms of health services who grapple with this issue every day. The calls for additional funding is in every area, virtually every person that commentates on the health budget talks about additional funding being required. for those commentators listening to this broadcast, I will give them two numbers, $432m last year $446m this year.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016