Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to that question, respectfully, is that the overall Tasmanian funding, which is informed by this variety of sources which go into it, has increased quite dramatically from 25 to 32 per cent. That means that Tasmania's funding is not only up in actual dollars but up in proportionate dollars. It is one of the largest increases in the country and one of the largest proportions in the country.

That brings me to the third area, and that is that there are specific partnerships: the $700-million-plus Mersey hospital agreement which has been injected into Tasmania's funding; the funding which the Prime Minister announced as part of the campaign with the now members for Bass and Braddon, who fought so strongly for $10 million for a mental health facility; the $10 million for an eating health facility; and, in particular, the $34.7 million for increases in emergency elective surgery funding and TAZ Outreach funding. There is $20 million towards elective surgery, as the member for Clark and I discussed recently, of which the first $5 million has already been paid as part of an agreement—something I've discussed with the Minister for Health in Tasmania, Sarah Courtney, as well as with you, Member for Clark. This is as well as the plan to make the University of Tasmania a medical research hub through the Menzies Institute for Medical Research in Tasmania and, from 1 January 2020, the new rural provider number. All of these things come together in what has been one of the most significant increases in actual dollars and proportionate dollars across the Commonwealth.

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