Jodie Campbell (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to talk this afternoon about hospital funding and health. I would like to thank the Minister for Health and Ageing for visiting my electorate of Bass, together with the Prime Minister, and for really showing an interest in relation to the hospital system in my electorate. For too long the blame game has hurt the health system and I think we have seen, from the flow-on effect of that, that it actually hurts patients. After 11 long years of neglect from those on the other side, there is much to be done now. We know that, and the minister and the Prime Minister have been working extremely hard. As you could imagine, my electorate of Bass in northern Tasmania is vitally interested in the steps the Rudd government is taking to secure the long-term health of the nation.

I guess this budget heralds a new era of cooperation, collaboration and honest and open dialogue between the Australian government and the states and territories. We have said, ‘No more buck passing,’ and we have said, ‘No more blame shifting,’ and we are committed to that. The government is providing an extra $1 billion to public hospitals this year. This boost reverses the trend of decline in the Commonwealth’s share of public hospital funding.

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