Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Nash for giving me the opportunity to highlight what we have done in health as distinct from what the Liberals did in the last 10 years when they were in government. Our total health spending of $56.2 billion in 2009-10 represents, if Senator Nash wants to make a comparison, a 4.7 per cent increase on the previous year. It is $4.6 billion over four years in spending—plus, of course, for COAG on top of this, $3.4 billion over four years in savings. Of course, 50 per cent of that is the increase in hospital funding. What we are providing is $64 billion over five years in health and hospital funding—that is $20 billion more. There is $750 million for emergency departments, $500 million for subacute care, $1.1 billion for the health workforce and eight—