Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a budget that does nothing to reverse the cruel cuts to the health budget from last year and indeed imposes massive new cuts to health. Despite the Prime Minister's solemn election promise of 'no cuts to health', total cuts across the health sector in his first two budgets now exceed more than $60 billion. My electorate of Newcastle has not been spared. In last year's budget the Abbott Liberal government cut more than $150 million from Hunter New England Health, which delivers essential health services across Newcastle. The Hunter Medicare Local is closing this month because of another broken promise from this Prime Minister. Funding for GP Access, our essential primary after-hours service, had to be fought for tooth and nail by my community to survive and now has been thrown only a 12-month lifeline. The Deadly Choices program that educated and empowered young Aboriginal people in Newcastle and the Hunter to make healthy choices to help avoid long-term health issues has been abolished.

While we are yet to see the full impact of the Prime Minister's new cuts to health care in Newcastle, my constituents are already telling me that their health is suffering as a result of increased cost-of-living pressures. My constituents are very worried about the cuts to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule that will halve the amount paid for child health assessments. And my veteran community is extremely concerned about the $69 million cut from veterans dental and allied health payments. Far from having learnt the lessons of last year's disastrous budget, the Abbott government appears determined to inflict more pain and chaos.