Mr BURKE - 2002-06-18
Minister, I listened to your comments regarding the review you intend to conduct. To my mind that review was not foreshadowed at all prior to today. By your own words, it includes the financial and resource capacity of the department. Given that, what relevance will the budget for 2002-03 have? Will health be excluded from the budget or will it be given a temporary appropriation when it is introduced in August? Surely a review such as this, given the importance that you put on it, was part of the preparation of the budget and should have already been completed.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, no, there has not been advance notice of the review because it was today that I announced the review. I am not going to give advance notice that I am going to do a review when it is only today that I announced it.
In relation to the budget, these are things that are happening within Cabinet at the moment. Naturally, health is part of the budget discussions, and will be part of the budget outcomes for the next budget which comes down later this year. Health is a priority for this government. It is not in the sad domain that it was with the previous government. We actually think that health is quite important.
Certainly the review process will be looking at the priorities that we want in the department, but it is clearly part of the Cabinet budget decisions.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, no, there has not been advance notice of the review because it was today that I announced the review. I am not going to give advance notice that I am going to do a review when it is only today that I announced it.
In relation to the budget, these are things that are happening within Cabinet at the moment. Naturally, health is part of the budget discussions, and will be part of the budget outcomes for the next budget which comes down later this year. Health is a priority for this government. It is not in the sad domain that it was with the previous government. We actually think that health is quite important.
Certainly the review process will be looking at the priorities that we want in the department, but it is clearly part of the Cabinet budget decisions.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016