Ms CARTER - 2003-05-01
Minister, I understand the Commonwealth has offered the NT an extra $112m in funding for our public hospitals. Given the current crisis in funding being experienced by Territory hospitals, can you advise if you will be agreeing to accept this extra funding, for which you have to improve your financial reporting and match the Commonwealth’s funding effort, or will you not accept it? If you will not be accepting it, could you explain to Territorians why?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is the very first comment that the member for Port Darwin has actually made about the Australian Health Care Agreements. May I say, I am a bit surprised that she starts with this particular line. In fact, we have analysed what appears to be the offer to the Northern Territory, and it looks like - and I say ‘looks like’ because we have not been given an explanation at this stage, which is why I am going to the Health Minister’s Conference tomorrow in Canberra. At this stage, in fact, the Northern Territory government is being offered a deal - if you can call it a deal - which is worse than we had for the previous five years. This government has no problem with accountability; accountability is something which we expect as a government anyway. We have no problem with that whatsoever.
However, at the moment in Australia, there is not a hospital that is not looking for extra funds. The Commonwealth has completely abrogated its responsibilities in relation to hospital funding. We have been looking, as health ministers - and we have been working with a group of clinicians throughout Australia for the past year, in good faith - at how we could reform the whole hospital system.
The Commonwealth was part of these arrangements, part of the discussions, went along with them, and then refused to come to the meeting to even the discuss the negotiations. How can you actually negotiate with people who do not turn up at meetings? We spent a whole year, we had volunteers of a very senior nature working for us, working for the whole of Australia, to try and reform Australia’s health system. The Commonwealth has just said: ‘These people have wasted their time. We do not want to listen to you any more. This is what we are going to do’.
Well, it appears - and, once again, I say ‘it appears’ - that in fact what the Commonwealth is saying is, that they are going to put in a 17% increase. Yes, this sounds great, if you say it like that. But, in fact, what they are actually saying is, they have accumulated that over five years. So that is maybe 4% a year. Yet we know, absolutely and certainly in the Northern Territory, that health costs have increased between 7.5% and 8.5% everywhere in Australia every year. This does not even come anywhere near the kind of funding that we need in our hospital system. It is very, very disappointing.
Australians deserve better, Territorians deserve better and I can tell you, this government will not be signing any arrangement unless we have a better deal for the Northern Territory. I am very disappointed that the member for Port Darwin seems to think that we would be so foolish as to sign an agreement which was not in the best interests of the Northern Territory.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is the very first comment that the member for Port Darwin has actually made about the Australian Health Care Agreements. May I say, I am a bit surprised that she starts with this particular line. In fact, we have analysed what appears to be the offer to the Northern Territory, and it looks like - and I say ‘looks like’ because we have not been given an explanation at this stage, which is why I am going to the Health Minister’s Conference tomorrow in Canberra. At this stage, in fact, the Northern Territory government is being offered a deal - if you can call it a deal - which is worse than we had for the previous five years. This government has no problem with accountability; accountability is something which we expect as a government anyway. We have no problem with that whatsoever.
However, at the moment in Australia, there is not a hospital that is not looking for extra funds. The Commonwealth has completely abrogated its responsibilities in relation to hospital funding. We have been looking, as health ministers - and we have been working with a group of clinicians throughout Australia for the past year, in good faith - at how we could reform the whole hospital system.
The Commonwealth was part of these arrangements, part of the discussions, went along with them, and then refused to come to the meeting to even the discuss the negotiations. How can you actually negotiate with people who do not turn up at meetings? We spent a whole year, we had volunteers of a very senior nature working for us, working for the whole of Australia, to try and reform Australia’s health system. The Commonwealth has just said: ‘These people have wasted their time. We do not want to listen to you any more. This is what we are going to do’.
Well, it appears - and, once again, I say ‘it appears’ - that in fact what the Commonwealth is saying is, that they are going to put in a 17% increase. Yes, this sounds great, if you say it like that. But, in fact, what they are actually saying is, they have accumulated that over five years. So that is maybe 4% a year. Yet we know, absolutely and certainly in the Northern Territory, that health costs have increased between 7.5% and 8.5% everywhere in Australia every year. This does not even come anywhere near the kind of funding that we need in our hospital system. It is very, very disappointing.
Australians deserve better, Territorians deserve better and I can tell you, this government will not be signing any arrangement unless we have a better deal for the Northern Territory. I am very disappointed that the member for Port Darwin seems to think that we would be so foolish as to sign an agreement which was not in the best interests of the Northern Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016