Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to a report today that the people of ACT will lose $47 million out of their healthcare budget on 1 July as a result of the Prime Minister's $80 billion cuts to hospitals and schools. Given the suffering that his cuts will inflict on Australians in just 27 days time, why is the Prime Minister asking, 'Where is the problem'?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to assure the member opposite that in fact Commonwealth funding to the ACT increases every single year under the budget that this government has just brought down. I do not have the figures at my fingertips, but I did look at them yesterday and, from memory, Commonwealth funding to the ACT increases by three per cent every year under this budget. In tough times like this, that is a pretty good deal.