Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Voters in Scullin remember all too well what the Prime Minister said the day before the last election. He said there would be no cuts to health. What an extraordinary breach of faith with the Australian people that was, with such far-reaching consequences for lives today and for the quality of lives into the future.

Today, I make particular mention of cuts to the Northern Hospital, in Epping, in my electorate. Of the more than $60 billion worth of cuts in hospital funding, nationally, nearly $500 million will affect the Northern Hospital. The real victims of this cut will be patients. Patients will now have to wait even longer in emergency departments or on elective-surgery waiting lists, in a hospital servicing growing communities. With these pressures compounded by the attacks on primary health care and preventative health, I think of the GP tax, which has gone through five iterations and is still being prosecuted by stealth. I think of the abandonment of Medicare Locals, which were doing such good work in providing access to primary health care.

No-one disputes that the number of people requiring hospital care will increase, but the Abbott government's response is simply to say, 'Too bad; so sad.' The Prime Minister himself has conceded these cuts are unsustainable and yet his government has made a further $2 billion in cuts in the most recent budget. They are cuts focused on preventative health and primary health care. Australians deserve better than this government of cruel cuts and broken promises.