Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

So what have they done? They have cut it. I'm sorry, I will answer that interjection. Yes, they have cut funding. I know because I was speaking to an agency in WA just five days ago, where not only has a halt on recruitment taken place—that is, new recruitment—but when they lose staff, they cannot replace them. Yet they are still expected to be meeting the same outcomes with fewer staff. So, yes, you have cut funding to that program! Go and tell Tom Calma that you haven't, because you have! That program deals specifically with preventative health. Those programs are essential if we are going to closing the gap. We need leadership on the preventative health. We do not need is to go back to the department, because the department could not do it and they are also being downsized so they are expected to do more with less.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

You need leadership from an independent, dedicated agency that deals with preventative health. We have continued to put effort into continue to closing the gap; we are not going to achieve that if we get rid of agencies that deal with preventative health.

We also need to deal with the poor health outcomes from income inequality. We know that income inequality has health outcomes. With the measures that this government is bringing in that cut social security, that attack our social security safety net, we are going to see even more poor health outcomes. It is all the more reason to keep an agency that is dedicated to addressing preventative health.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

The arguments for the Preventative Health Agency are just as relevant today as they were when we were debating this in 2011. There is an absolutely essential need for a continuing investment in preventative health, particular for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. You cannot on the one hand make noises about supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and wanting to recognise them in community and going up to East Arnhem Land to spend a week in a community and making all the supposedly noises, but then do measures in your own budget that cut the Preventative Health Agency that will put in place measures that specifically relate to closing the gap. This is a flawed approach. It is ideologically driven. There is not a scrap of evidence to suggest that this is not a good approach. We need to be investing in preventative health, we need to be making sure that we have those programs in place—that in fact we increase expenditure on public health. An investment now not only saves lives it also will save money for the health system. We want a wellness system that is focused on keeping people well, on addressing chronic illnesses—

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

Chair, could I please ask you to ask those interjections to stop!