Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Sport) Share this | Hansard source

I am proud to be part of a government that spends record dollars on Medicare. I am proud of a government that, unlike the economic illiterates opposite, recognises that what you cannot pay for you cannot deliver. That is at the heart of the member for Sydney's question. Members opposite do not understand that the health portfolio works side by side with the portfolios of finance, treasury, social services and tax and with every other member in this place in order to deliver the health system that the patients of Australia expect. Unfortunately, what you cannot pay for you cannot deliver. We saw the Labor Party adding cost after cost to the credit card, just saying, 'It will be paid for,' not recognising that the first duty of any government is to the economic circumstances of Australians and the national accounts and not recognising that, to build a strong, sustainable health system, you must have a strong economy. Without that, we cannot implement the reforms that we are doing.

We have a policy-free zone here with Labor. There has not been a single policy since 2013—not one single health policy. As another previous health minister said, the health system will continue to demand more expenses and cannibalise itself. That is what a previous, moderately sensible Labor health minister said, recognising that, unless you stay on a calm, sensible, serious path to reform, you cannot deliver the system that puts patients before politics.

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