PM: It's great to be back in Tasmania, great to be back in Hobart and great to be back here at the Menzies Medical Research Institute. It's good to be here with Mark Butler and of course Julie Collins.
This is an important centre for medical research and for health, not just for Tasmanian families but for Australian families. There is great work done here and more work will be done here. We're here at this centre because we the Australian Government are funding a huge slice of the expansion of this Menzies Medical Research Centre for all Tasmanians.
Once completed, our funding of nearly $50 million will create a facility which will support some 450 researchers. This is fundamentally important for Tasmania, fundamentally important for the quality of medical research here and across the nation and I've seen this morning some of the great work that's being done here. Great work being done in neurological conditions, great work being done particularly in MS - there being a high incidence of MS in Tasmania - and therefore the importance of getting behind those researchers.
The broader point is this: for the future, under the Australian Government's health and hospitals plan for Australia, what we have is the Australian Government taking the dominant role in the future for the funding of teaching and research and building and the running costs of our hospitals and our research institutes nationwide.
In the past the Australian Government rarely put a dollar into the expansion of hospitals, rarely put a dollar into the expansion of medical research institutes and training. What we are doing under our national hospitals and health plan is exactly the reverse - the Australian Government, for the first time, committing to take a dominant funding role for the future running cost of our hospitals, a dominant funding role for the future construction and operation of our medical research and training institutes. The Australian Government, for the first time, taking a dominant role for the future building of hospitals and the expansion of hospitals as well. This is fundamental to what we are now proposing to do with our hospital and health plan for the country's future.
There's about a month to go before the meeting of the Council of Australian Governments on the future of health and hospitals in Australia. The Government's case is clear. We want better health and better hospital services for all Australians. That's why we're proposing a national health and hospitals network. Doctors, nurses, patients and all working families across Australia want to see our local hospital services improved in the future. Doctors, nurses, patients and working families across Australia want to see concrete action on improving the services of their local hospitals and that forms the basis of our plan.
In the month ahead I will be taking the case strongly for our health and hospitals network across every State and every Territory across Australia. The Health Minister Nicola Roxon, backed up by her team and her officials, will be engaging health ministers right across Australia, every state and every territory, explaining the need for concrete action now. The Treasurer will be doing the same with state and territory treasurers right across Australia, again explaining how we fund concrete action to improve health and hospital services right across Australia.
We look forward to these negotiations with the States and Territories. We don't underestimate how difficult it will be. We expect all these negotiations to be tough, to be robust but we are determined to bring about real action for the improvement of hospital services across Australia.
You see, I would encourage all the Premiers and Chief Ministers to get behind this. I would encourage also, all political parties to get behind this as well. The nation is crying out for these changes to happen. We've pushed it off for too long in the past. It's time to put our best foot forward as a country and get this right for the future and we intend to do so. Over to you, folks.
JOURNALIST: Sir, will you be rolling out the entire detail of that funding package (inaudible)
PM: As I said at the National Press Club the other day, national heath and hospital network, funded national, run locally, to deliver better health and hospitals across the nation. We need to get agreement from the States and Territories around that. On top of that we have also said that we intend, as an Australian Government to grow the system, grow the number of hospital beds, grow the number of nurses and grow the number of doctors.
But you know something? We need to get the States and Territories to accept the overall reform plan in itself, and then we get on with growing the system. Otherwise we are going to simply continue the waste, the duplication and the overlap we have seen in the past.
JOURNALIST: Will this hospital plan mean the loss of health bureaucracy jobs (inaudible)
PM: Well look, we've been very plain about the fact that we want to see the maximum delivery of front line services in local hospitals by doctors and nurses and an absolute minimum oh health bureaucracy. Now, the details in each state, including here in Tassie, I'm sure that will be sorted out over time. But we make no apology for the fact we want overall, less health bureaucrats and more front line services in local hospitals from doctors, from nurses and those who make the local hospital network, work on the ground.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Look, we have simply said that these changes that we'll bring about in establishing local hospital networks across Australia, should be achieved on the basis of no net addition to bureaucracy anywhere. If that means moving some health bureaucrats from capital cities to the point of delivery of services out there in the local communities and the regions of Australia, well that will be sorted out over time. But what we want is a maximum attention to people, delivering health and hospital services on the ground.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: We are absolutely confident that what will happen as a result of the national health and hospitals network is an expansion in frontline services right across the nation. More doctors, more nurses, more allied health professional, more hospital beds, delivering the critical, real concrete action that people want. No-one in Australia, no-one anywhere wants to see any expansion to health bureaucrats. What they do want to see is an expansion of frontline services and we intend to get that balance right.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: When I said before that the Health Minister and her officials will be providing briefings right across the country, that applies to any interested political party, including state oppositions. So we're completely relaxed about that. You know why? Because when you're dealing with such a big reform for the nation which affects hospital services everywhere, from the 764 public hospitals which exist across Australia, it's important that all the mainstream political parties are informed and all are prepared to look at the facts. And we'd encourage them to get on board as well.
I notice Mr Abbott on that score, attacked our plan before it was released. I'd just note that Mr Abbott seems to attack everything and support nothing. It's seems to be an emerging habit.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Can I simply say that the Australian Government doesn't need polls in the newspaper to tell us that working families across Australia and doctors and nurses want to improve the hospital services of our nation. It's absolutely clear cut. If you were to go down to any hospital in Australia today and ask patients whether they were happy about the time that they need to wait for elective surgery, and to be rescheduled. Ask any person who fronts at an accident and emergency whether they have all been seen within a reasonable period of time. Ask people in rural and regional areas whether they have got enough doctors to meet their needs. Ask them those questions, there is a huge underlying support across the Australian people to get health and hospital reform done.
You know something? There is always opposition on the way through to any big reform, whether it's from state premiers, from chief ministers, from health bureaucrats and from others, because we are changing the way things work. You know something? We intend to give this our absolute best shot and the reason is, the Australian people are calling out for this sort of change.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Can I say that prior to the last election, I said that we would undertake fundamental reform of the health and hospital system of the country. I said that we would commission a root and branch review. We've done that.
We've now road tested its recommendations with so many hospitals across Australia including here at the Royal Hobart, where as you know, as ladies and gentlemen of the press, I've been before, and at Launceston as well, to get their feedback on the recommendations put forward.
And now based on all of that we've placed our plan for a national heath and hospitals network, funded nationally, run locally for better health and better hospital services across the country. Now, whether, how people respond to that in terms of state and territory governments, let's see how the debate unfolds over the next critical month. But we've been consistent about the fact that this is a reform we would act on during our first term in office and we've done so.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well, the premiers and the chief ministers will raise a whole range of questions. I notice Premier Keneally already has sent me a letter as well raising questions as well. We'll get back to the Government of New South Wales on each and every one of these details.
But you know something? We cannot simply postpone real action, concrete action on improving our health and hospital services. We intend to get on with it but we'll answer all reasonable questions on the way through.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: What I've always said is that we, the Australian Government, would put this plan to the Australian states and territories. This is a bold plan, it is a big plan. We believe it is a plan whose time has come. I think working families are sick and tired of bits of sticky tape being applied to the system, a bandaid here and a bandaid there, to the health and hospital system. They want it fundamentally reformed and properly funded for the future.
Then I have said also, consistent with the past, that if the states and territories reject it then we would seek a further mandate from the Australian people. It's what I said prior to the election. It's what I've said since the election. It remains my position today.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) what's the strategy and the sensitivities around not talking about additional funding (inaudible) aged care (inaudible).
PM: Well, you know something? Under the current system which many state premiers and chief ministers seem to be defending, there is massive waste through duplication and overlap. Therefore the challenge is this: we must eliminate that waste and then grow the system.
Eliminating waste means, for the first time, having a single, dominant national funder for the health and hospital system. Let's go to the core of our reforms. Number one, for the first time in Australia's history, the Australian Government taking the dominant role for the funding of the recurrent or operating costs of our hospitals.
Second point - for the first time, the Australian Government taking the dominant funding role for funding teaching and research of the type we've been talking about here today in Hobart.
The third is for the first time the Australian Government taking the dominant role for the building of new hospitals and the expansion of existing hospitals. There are big reforms.
On top of that, the Australian Government taking total funding responsibility for health services delivered outside hospitals.
So why do we need to get those principals right first? Until you do that, you will continue to have a system which wastes somewhere between, in some calculations, 10 to 20 percent of the money invested in it. Once you've got a way through in getting rid of that waste then, comfortably, you can grow the system.
The Australian Government by the way, in terms of growing the system already for those who may argue that no additional funding is coming, can I just say this: right now, 2010, we are already into the second year of a five-year expansion of our hospitals budget for the states whereby we've increased that by 50 per cent. That is flowing through last year, this year, next year, the year after and the year after that.
On top of that, the growth we are now taking onto our shoulders for the future expansion of the system is taking $15 billion-worth of responsibility away from the states and putting it on our shoulders, which means more hospitals beds, more doctors, more nurses funded by the Australian Government. That's our response to, I think, a number of the bleeps about the system and I don't think they stand up to scrutiny.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said you may take it further than that at the election (inaudible) are you saying you don't have a mandate for them at the moment?
PM: I'm saying that I have always been clear about the fact that we wanted to achieve these reforms with the states and territories cooperatively if we could. But I'm not prepared to simply to push it to one side if that cooperation is not forthcoming.
Then we would seek, as I said before, a further mandate from the people. That is what I said prior to the last election. That is what I have said since the last election. My position has not changed one bit. It's been absolutely consistent.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) polls (inaudible)
PM: Well, can I say that any election, state or federal, is a tight election. Secondly, what I'd say is that in Tasmania what you have with David Bartlett is a strong Premier who has delivered a Tasmanian tiger economy.
The people of Tasmania will form their own judgements, but I would just underline one fact: this economy has been fundamentally transformed. This is a growing economy. In the last year or so we've generated one of the fastest growth rates of any state in the country. This is a vastly different Tasmania to the one which existed in times past.
Therefore, I think when people go to make up their mind, they'll bear that in mind, but let's not underestimate the degree of challenge in this election and in other elections and I'm sure David Bartlett will demonstrate his strong leadership credentials, not just on this but on broadband and on health and hospitals as well.
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