Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no area of public responsibility that has its stated outcomes compromised by politicking and cross-jurisdictional sniping as much as Australia’s health sector. There is no area of joint federal and state government funding that is more prone to public dissatisfaction, public frustration and hurtful consequences to private lives than the health system. As if by design, the national health system has all the characteristics of being purpose built for providing the Commonwealth and state governments a court over which to volley accusations of underfunding, irresponsibility and public failure—all for purely political points. This is the blame game.

Yesterday we had introduced in this place a substantial, highly responsible, forward-looking document resulting from many months of activity, investigations and analysis by members of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing. The document was the report on the inquiry into health funding entitled The blame game. We heard last night members of both the government and the opposition speaking in full support of the content of the report, including its 29 recommendations aimed at improving the accountability of players within the national health system and both the cost-effectiveness and the outcomes of that system—a national health system that consumed $85.3 billion in 2004-05. It is expected to double in cost as a proportion of GDP over the next 40 years.

Everyone who listened to and read the submissions supports the recommendations as tabled. Everyone who interviewed the people actually delivering health care in this country supports the recommendations as tabled. Every one of the six Liberal government and four Labor opposition members on the committee supports the recommendations that identified the financial and administrative necessity for the national health system to be cleaned up. This report is about nothing less than the future utility and sustainability of our world’s best practice national health system, which is charged with serving an ageing population.

The committee chair has stated that 24 per cent of the people in his electorate are over 60 years of age. In my electorate of Hindmarsh, the proportion of people aged 65 or over—and this is according to the 2001 ABS figures—is over 25 per cent. So we are clearly in total agreement that, if a person like Mrs Mazzone, of whom I spoke last night, needs dental care, she should be treated. We are in agreement that the Prime Minister, just 24 hours after the report was tabled, discounted our recommendations and continued to play the blame game. How can any responsible, socially minded person—in public office of all places—not see that a person waiting for dental treatment for 2½ years just to be diagnosed with gum disease and put on another two-year waiting list is an avoidable failure of the overall system?

There are now 650,000 Australians just like my constituent Mrs Mazzone on the public waiting list for dental care. There are also far too many elderly Australians throughout the nation stuck in public hospital beds, unable to access nursing home accommodation and delaying treatment for those requiring hospital care—elderly Australians living the life of people in far worse conditions but cared for by the state governments in public hospitals because the federal government clearly has not put sufficient funds towards organising necessary nursing home accommodation.

Whether we focus on local government, state government or federal government, Australians must expect of our representatives a fundamental desire to contribute towards outcomes in the public interest, in the alleviation of suffering and in the promotion of human dignity and life. All parliamentary representatives must look for opportunities to improve the system of government at any and all levels, to maximise the benefits for Mrs Mazzone and the 650,000 people who need dental care or for people like those within the electorate of Hindmarsh who get stuck at the Royal Adelaide Hospital or Flinders hospital for lack of suitable Commonwealth investment in aged care beds and aged facilities.

That report, which was tabled yesterday, was titled The blame game. It stated that state and federal levels of government have a vested interest in maintaining the current system, which sees as much as five per cent of total health expenditure wasted by inefficiencies, duplication and overservicing within an industry so complicated that either level of government, with seeming impunity, can blame the other for unsatisfactory outcomes. It stands to reason that a determined federal government is best positioned to align interested parties, including state governments, in pursuit of a better way of doing things. Clearly, it is much easier for the major shareholder—at 45.6 per cent of annual funding, compared with 22.6 per cent from the states— (Time expired)

Question agreed to.