Ms PRICE - 2013-05-15
Minister, Budget 2013-14 contains a record responsible investment in the Territory’s health system. Can the minister outline some of the highlights in the budget? How does the Giles government approach to the health system differ from Labor’s?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Stuart for her question. She is very concerned about the delivery of health services in her electorate and in regional and remote parts of the Northern Territory.
The budget handed down yesterday by our Treasurer contains a record responsible investment in the Territory’s health system. The Territory government has budgeted $1.36bn for health in 2013-14; of this, $975m is Northern Territory output appropriation. This represents an increase of $152m, or 18%, compared to Labor’s budget in May of last year.
Under the government’s new service framework reforms, $575m will be allocated to the Top End Health and Hospital Service and $229m to the Central Australian Health and Hospital Service. It also provides $48.16m to meet increased demand and cost pressures for health and hospital services.
A further $5m has been allocated for a hospital scoping study to look into the needs of the greater Darwin and Palmerston region health needs for the next 30 years, something the former Labor government did not do. Their very poor planning around the Palmerston hospital has become a great concern to us. Because of poor planning, this scoping study needs to be done to ensure the Palmerston hospital is exactly what we need it to be into the future. Other measures include additional money for cancer patients, cardiac funding, an additional 400 elective surgeries per annum, and extra funding for patient travel and the Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme.
The Opposition Leader has been banging on over the last 24 hours, putting down this budget, spreading incorrect lines about exactly how we are spending on health. The Leader of the Opposition is wrong. We have increased spending on hospitals throughout the Northern Territory; $1.36bn is a record amount spent in the area of health in the Northern Territory.
Either the Leader of the Opposition is getting it very wrong through lack of an ability to understand her budget papers - as a former Treasurer, she should take the time to study them and get them right, rather than peddle the mistruths or the inaccurate information that she has been doing.
We have before us a record spend on health. We are very proud of it. We are a responsible government and we look forward to the next three years of improving health in the Northern Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired. Opposition Leader.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Stuart for her question. She is very concerned about the delivery of health services in her electorate and in regional and remote parts of the Northern Territory.
The budget handed down yesterday by our Treasurer contains a record responsible investment in the Territory’s health system. The Territory government has budgeted $1.36bn for health in 2013-14; of this, $975m is Northern Territory output appropriation. This represents an increase of $152m, or 18%, compared to Labor’s budget in May of last year.
Under the government’s new service framework reforms, $575m will be allocated to the Top End Health and Hospital Service and $229m to the Central Australian Health and Hospital Service. It also provides $48.16m to meet increased demand and cost pressures for health and hospital services.
A further $5m has been allocated for a hospital scoping study to look into the needs of the greater Darwin and Palmerston region health needs for the next 30 years, something the former Labor government did not do. Their very poor planning around the Palmerston hospital has become a great concern to us. Because of poor planning, this scoping study needs to be done to ensure the Palmerston hospital is exactly what we need it to be into the future. Other measures include additional money for cancer patients, cardiac funding, an additional 400 elective surgeries per annum, and extra funding for patient travel and the Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme.
The Opposition Leader has been banging on over the last 24 hours, putting down this budget, spreading incorrect lines about exactly how we are spending on health. The Leader of the Opposition is wrong. We have increased spending on hospitals throughout the Northern Territory; $1.36bn is a record amount spent in the area of health in the Northern Territory.
Either the Leader of the Opposition is getting it very wrong through lack of an ability to understand her budget papers - as a former Treasurer, she should take the time to study them and get them right, rather than peddle the mistruths or the inaccurate information that she has been doing.
We have before us a record spend on health. We are very proud of it. We are a responsible government and we look forward to the next three years of improving health in the Northern Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired. Opposition Leader.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016