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

There have been a number of questions about Medicare Locals. First, there was a question about the collapsing of several flexible funds and core funding into one, more flexible, funding pool. We have done this for the very good reason that Medicare Locals are supposed to make local decisions about local priorities and to have the flexibility to meet those demands.

An opposition member: It is not one flexible funding pool. It has all gone into core funding.

It is not all going to core funding. There are a number of flexible funds being combined with core funding. In 2013-14, core funding for the Medicare Local after-hours program, the Rural Primary Health Services program and the preventative health initiative are being consolidated into the primary healthcare initiatives through the Medicare Locals Fund, the flexible fund. What we will see is a total increase across the network in excess of $70 million. The flexible funding means that all Medicare Locals will receive increased funding. The average across Medicare locals will be a 20 per cent increase in funding.

See this speech in context