Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

The Gillard government investment in health means 2,000 more nurses in our emergency departments, 5½ thousand more GPs in practice or in training, 1,300 extra subacute beds, more than 60 GP superclinics and more than 420 infrastructure grants. In fact, the GP infrastructure grants and the GP superclinics have been welcomed by many opposite—usually in their electorates, not in here. I saw that the member for Gilmore was welcoming, quite rightly, one of these marvellous investments in her own community recently. Unfortunately, this is one of the programs that the Leader of the Opposition says he would cut—a $355 million cut. You simply cannot have it both ways. As health minister, the Leader of the Opposition cut $1 billion from our public hospital system. That meant longer waiting times for emergency and for surgery. He saw the GP shortage blow out and bulk-billing rates at rock bottom. In the 2010 election he promised to cut $5 billion from health spending. You only need to look around at the states and territories to see what that sort of cut would mean: in Queensland, cutting breast screening services, $80 million coming out of hospitals and 4,000 health workers cut; in Victoria $25 million from community health services, including $1 million out of women's health; and, in New South Wales, cuts to emergency after hours—I know that up at the Mullumbimby hospital they are going to lose their after-hours doctor—and 3,600 staff from the health department are reported to be cut.

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