PM: I'm going to say a few things about the storms here in WA, then about Senator Minchin, then I'll go onto health and hospitals, if that's OK, and then take your questions.
I've just been talking to the Premier now about the terrible storms that have happened here in WA over the last little while. These have brought about a lot of damage, a lot of destruction, a lot of hardship, to a lot of people and behalf of the Australian Government we'd like to express our real sense of solidarity with people here in WA about what they've been going through.
Today, the Australian Government has decided to provide financial assistance to Western Australia through the West Australian Government, through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements. The following assistance is being made available to 33 disaster-declared local government areas: emergency assistance for people who have suffered personal hardship or distress, support to local governments and state agencies for the restoration or replacement of essential public infrastructure, and interest rate subsidies for small business and professional advice grants, interest rate subsidies and other measures for primary producers.
These are all available on the relevant contact numbers for the relevant government agencies and will be up on the Australian Government's website as of now, and that is, they can be had through www.fesa.wa.gov.au or the Australian Government website, as is appropriate.
The Commonwealth Government, through Emergency Management Australia, will continue to work closely with the WA authorities, local governments and community organisations to ensure that affected communities have all the support they need through this difficult period.
Again, all I could say, as someone, like Wayne, who comes from Queensland, we've been through some pretty rough storms ourselves over the years. I understand from the locals this has been very violent and caused a lot damage, a lot of hardship and a lot of distress, so our thoughts and our feelings are with the good people of WA as they've been through that, and we're here to provide this practical level of support to those disaster-affected areas.
Secondly, I've just been advised that Senator Nick Minchin from South Australia has indicated that he will not be recontesting the next federal election. Though Nick and I are on different sides of politics, could I express my recognition of his long service to the Australian Senate, his long service to the Australian Parliament, and, of course, his long service to the Liberal Party of Australia. As it happens, Nick and I went to the same university college together years and years ago; I'm also happy to say he was there a little earlier than I was, but I wish he and his family well in his decision to embark upon a new career, or a new period in his professional life.
I now go on to the question of health and hospitals.
The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and I have just had good meetings with both the Premier of WA and of course with the Treasurer as well. With Premier Colin Barnett I've had good discussions. We've now been in meetings for the last couple of hours on the future of the health and hospital system nationally and the health and hospital system here in West Australia.
We've had a good discussion; a positive discussion; a substantive discussion; there's still a lot of work to be done. I want to work with all the premiers, Labor and Liberal, from states large and small right across Australia to get an outcome for working families wanting better health and better hospital services for the future.
Families right across Australia, pensioners and carers, are depending on political leaders to put their differences to one side and to get on with the business of bringing about better health and better hospital services for the future, and that's why I've been here in the west today. That's why earlier I've met also with the Premier of Victoria when I was in Melbourne, the Premier of New South Wales when I was in Sydney and of course with the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh.
The Premier of Western Australian, Colin Barnett, and I will probably meet again between now and when COAG is scheduled to convene on 19 April, and our officials and our treasurers will be also meeting in the period ahead to try and iron out remaining difficulties or disagreements between us.
We've made some progress today. It's been a good discussion, a positive discussion, and I look forward to that continuing in the weeks remaining between now and when COAG is held.
Over to you, folks.
JOURNALIST: Mr Barnett says that the GST is the state's money (inaudible) the Commonwealth is funding its program out of the state's money. Where (inaudible)
PM: I think what Col and I both agree with is that the GST is the taxpayers' money, and the taxpayers of Australia and families right across Australia want us to make sure that we're delivering better health and better hospital services.
We've had a good discussion about the revenue side of this and how this policy is funded into the future. We've also had a good discussion about the structure of the system for the future as well - the operation of local hospital networks - but it's all, at the end of the day, about one thing: delivering better health and hospital services to working families here in the west and right across the nation.
As I said, it was a good, substantive conversation.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Oh, we've still got a number of things to iron out, I think that's fair to say. I think there are areas we achieved some clarification on how the system would operate in the future under the new National Health and Hospitals Network, funded nationally but run locally, and that's critical. For the first time the Australian Government taking on the dominant funding responsibility for the public hospital system - its recurrent needs, its capital needs, its equipment needs, its teaching needs, its training needs - in the past, the Australian Government has not stepped up to the plate on this enough.
In fact, at the time we took office the Australian Government's total funding role for the public hospital system across Australia had shrunk right down to 37 percent, and, you know, in the past, or as of right now, the Australian Government's paying effectively 0 percent for the capital needs of the system, 0 percent for the equipment needs, 0 percent for the teaching and training needs.
We need to change that because states like WA are growth states. They've got a huge number of challenges in the future, like building enough infrastructure. Because this is such a tearaway piece of cost for the future, that is the health and hospital system, you need the Australian Government to step in and take a more dominant role - that's what we're proposing to do.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: He's about so tall, nice guy, he sort of-
JOURNALIST: -Which premier do you think will be the (inaudible)
PM: Look, can I say my job as Prime Minister is to work productively and positively with all the premiers; Labor, Liberal, from whichever state, in order to bring about an agreement for better health and better hospitals for working families.
Premier Barnett will logically put forward the interests of WA, as have the premiers of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, those I've met most recently.
We've still got a ways to go but there's still quite a number of weeks to go before we convene at COAG, but can I say we're making some progress, but there's still areas of disagreement and I've worked with Colin Barnett over many, many meetings now on many, many different challenges which he faces over here. We've been in partnership in the Ord, we're in partnership right at the new port development at Oakajee, partnership, I think, with a new construction in the middle of the city here at Northbridge, partnership also with the additional investment we've put into the Australian Healthcare Agreement already. The Midlands Hospital - we're investors there, I think, to the tune of $180 million.
JOURNALIST: The Premier has said that the hospitals are state-owned and built and operated and the states won't want to hand them over, but you're indicating hospitals will be state-operated, in a sense.
PM: Well, what I've said consistently since the release of the new National Health and Hospitals Network is that, of course, the hospital system, the ownership of the hospital system, remains within the province of the states. Nothing new in that. What we're concerned about is how do you deliver the future funding necessary to make sure that we're delivering the best possible health and hospital services to families, pensioners and carers right across Australia.
Right now, let me give you one example: the GST is growing at about 6 percent per annum, a bit less than that. Health and hospital budgets around the country run by the states and territories are growing at 11 percent per annum. The gap is getting bigger, and therefore a crunch is going to come. In fact, what we know from the Intergenerational Report is that if we don't fundamentally change the system, health budgets alone, hospital budgets alone, will effectively overwhelm state budgets completely over the next 20-30 years, making it impossible for them to fund other key priorities like in transport, like in law and order, like in infrastructure - that's why we need this fundamental change.
JOURNALIST: Have you had any update on the Stern Hu trial in China?
PM: I've had no further reports, other than to say that our consular officials in Shanghai continue to monitor the trial closely, and secondly for me to say, as I've said before, that it's not just Australia who's watching this trial very closely, but I think the eyes of the world are focussed on the way in which this trial is conducted and what happens as a result of it.
JOURNALIST: When do you expect a verdict, Prime Minister?
PM: The Chinese legal system is vastly different from the Australian legal system. As I said, we will be watching this very closely.
JOURNALIST: Are you willing to negotiate WA's share in overall GST in order to gain the support of the Premier?
PM: What we need to do is to make sure that we've got the funding necessary to deliver the best health and hospital services for families here in the west for the future - not just for next year, but for 10 years ahead, 20 years ahead, 30 years ahead. We've made our calculation in terms of the overall funding that will be necessary to do this. It's contained in the policy document we put out already.
We've also said this - that the Australian Government would take on the lion's share of the growth in the health and hospital system's funding for the future as well. Across the states, that means the Australian Government taking onto its shoulders about $15 billion worth of responsibility, which would otherwise be borne by the states. That's $15 billion which can be invested in other priorities, like transport infrastructure.
In the case of WA, that probably, over a 5-year period, equates to $1.7 billion that we the Australian Government will become responsible for funding which would otherwise have to be funded by the WA Government. Now, I want the good people of WA to get the best services they can from both levels of government, but I think this is one way we can do it.
JOURNALIST: It's obviously rare for both yourself and the Treasurer to be in WA at the same time. Why is it that Mr Swan's accompanied you on this trip?
PM: We like WA. There was a flight heading over this way. In fact, it was our flight.
Look, these are important discussions, and they affect the future of the health and hospital system for a couple of million people in this part of the world, this part of Australia, part of the Australian family. Secondly, it affects the future of public finance. You've got to get both those things right together, which is why we've had a team of officials with us specialising in health, specialising in public finance, and we've had a good couple of hours worth of discussions with out counterparts today - there's more to be done.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) Is it the Government's intention to process people off the island to make way for the new arrivals?
PM: Look, my advice is that we still continue to have capacity available on Christmas Island.
As I've said before, we deal with each challenge as it arises, as governments have done before us, as the Howard Government had to when, following the war in Afghanistan and following the Iraq war, you saw changes as well. In the lead up to those wars you saw outflows of refugees. Each government of Australia has to deal with the challenges they face. Most recently, we've faced an outflow from Sri Lanka.
JOURNALIST: Tony Abbott wants to debate you on the asylum seekers issue next week. Will you do that?
PM: Can I say that I'm focussed 100 percent on health and hospitals. That's why I'm happy to have a debate with Mr Abbott on health and hospitals. We are now focussed fully on that right through to the Council of Australian Governments meeting, and I would strongly suggest that Mr Abbott remain focussed on health and hospitals as well.
Working families, pensioners, carers, right across Australia, every state of the Commonwealth, they want better health and better hospital services, and they want politicians of all political persuasion, all levels of government, to start cooperating on getting that outcome.
I think people are getting a bit sick and tired of the finger pointing and they want instead for politicians to point the way ahead on health and hospitals.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: I'm not familiar with those reports. I can't comment, I'm sorry. No, I haven't seen the reports at all.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, under your proposals, who will ultimately be responsible for hospitals? Will it be the state (inaudible)
PM: When it comes to the adequacy of the funding of the system, you've got, for the first time, the Australian Government becoming the dominant funders of the system.
When I said, prior to the last election, under the future of the health and hospital system of Australia the buck would stop with me, I meant it, and that means that you've got to take responsibility to ensure that our system is properly funded for the future.
Now, we've said that we want a National Health and Hospitals Network which is funded nationally but run locally - run locally through local hospital networks here in Perth, beyond Perth into the regional and rural areas of Western Australia as well, so that you've got doctors and nurses who will have a much greater role in making decisions about the delivery of health services to their local communities
What I've discovered as I've travelled around the country and spoken to, for example, the local hospital in Geraldton, I conducted a consultation there for several hours a number of months ago listening carefully to what the local specialists and doctors were saying. They were saying to me two things: one, make sure this system is funded properly; and second, make sure that those at the local level, at the coal face where the actual health services are delivered have as much say as possible in how it's done.
We think we've got the balance right with this but we've still got a ways to go between now and COAG.
JOURNALIST: Will you have Mr Barnett on board on the hospital plan by the 19th?
PM: Can I say that I look forward to many conversations with Colin between now and the 19th. As I said, we will probably end up meeting again between now and the 19th, either in the fair city of Perth or the fair city of Canberra, and we'll continue talking.
It's been a good start to these discussions. We've made some substantive progress this morning. Still some areas to work our way through, but, as I've said before, my job as Prime Minister is to spend as much time as is necessary with premiers of all political parties right across the country to get the best deal possible for working families for health and hospitals.
Having said that, folks, I'm already half an hour late to one of your local hospitals. Better go.