Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) condemns the reduction in National Health Reform funding to the states indicated in the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook;

(b) expresses its concern over whether the methodology used to justify these reductions, especially in regard to population growth estimates, was correct and applied in good faith;

(c) calls on the Government to restore funding to the National Health Funding Pool to all states in 2013 and over the forward estimates;

(d) is concerned That the direct payments to Victorian hospitals announced by the Government undermines the Government's own National Health Reform Agreement; and

(e) condemns the long term underinvestment by some state governments in their public hospitals.

I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion relates to the debate we have seen in this chamber about hospital funding. There has been a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing over this issue. We have heard the government claim that it has increased funding to the public hospital system and that is true. The pertinent point here, however, is that they have increased funding by less than what was promised.

If I can give an analogy, if you negotiate a three per cent pay increase with an employer and at the end of the year you receive a one per cent pay increase, that is effectively a cut. This is a $1.5 billion cut over four years, and it comes on the back of a chronic underinvestment by state governments in the hospital system. The government's announcement to return money to Victoria is not good enough. It needs to do that to all states, particularly Queensland and New South Wales, who have been hardest hit, and it needs to honour its own agreement and ensure that funding is done through the National Health Funding Pool.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Di Natale be agreed to.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a one-minute statement in relation to the division just taken.

Leave granted.

This is nothing more than a stunt by the Greens. The Greens were Labor's minority government partner when these cuts were announced in MYEFO, when the Treasurer made the detailed determinations in November 2012 and when the retrospective cuts were made in December 2012. As the government's partner, they facilitated these cuts and failed to stand up for public hospitals in this country. Now they are crying crocodile tears. Despite the faux break-up, the Greens continue to provide confidence and support for this chaotic government, irrespective of the damage being done to the Australian community. As such, the Greens are culpable for these hospital cuts as a partner in the minority Gillard government. We do not support the Greens' duplicity on these cuts and these belated stunts to cover their tracks. It is just another attempt by the Greens to hide their dirty hands on this and many other issues.