PM: It is good to be back in Brisbane, and it's good to be here at this Hospital, and as part of the research work of this University. The Government, in this one week to go before COAG convenes in Canberra, will be talking long and hard about the need for fundamental change in the health and hospital system of Australia. What are we on about? A new National Health and Hospitals Network funded nationally, run locally, and for the first time, the Australian Government being the dominant funder of the public hospital system.
And why? To deliver more hospital beds, more doctors, more nurses, and other health services to working families, pensioners and carers right across the country. And today, I'm announcing for the first time that the Australian Government will take over full federal control of aged care. This investment will support around 5000 aged care places or beds, and help to end the blame game that hurts hospitals, and also hurts aged care services. By ending the blame game in aged care, we'll deliver more money, more beds, and more health services for senior Australians. That's really important.
Today's announcement doesn't just deliver better care for senior Australians, it also means less pressure on our hospitals. And this means better support for aged care services for senior Australians, and at the same time, taking pressure off our hospitals for all Australians. Through this national aged care package, the Australian Government will, firstly, for the first time take full responsibility for aged care, including home and community care provided to older Australians.
Second, support the development of 2,500 new aged care places through the zero real interest rate loans scheme. Thirdly, provide an estimated $280 million to the states and territories to fund older Australians who are stuck in hospitals, waiting for an aged care place. Fourthly, increase incentives to GPs to provide more services in aged care homes. And fifthly, to expand the capacity of multi-purpose services, which provide aged care and set-down services in small rural communities by the addition of some 286 additional sub-acute beds, or bed equivalents.
Aged care is a really important part of the overall reform of our health and hospital system. Getting the reform of the acute hospital system is critical. Getting the reform of our aged care network is critical. And getting the reform of our primary healthcare system is critical. Together, this makes up a new national health and hospitals network, for better health and better hospital services for all Australians. And I, just now, might ask Justine Elliot, the Minister for Aged Care, to speak about the individual elements of the aged care program, then I'll happily take your questions.
ELLIOT: Thank you Prime Minister. This investment of $739 million is about providing more services, and access to more services, for our older Australians. We'll be delivering around 5000 aged care places as part of this package. And that's about ending the blame game, it's about ending the duplication that occurs, and the major fragmentation that we have within our aged care system.
Firstly, we'll be taking full funding and policy responsibility for aged care. Currently, the Commonwealth funds up to about 90% of aged care services, nursing home services, high-level clinical care services in the home, and we fund about 60% of home and community care services. But we're going to take over all of that in terms of aged care services, and what this means is, we'll have a nationally consistent, unified system.
So it means for those older Australians, when it comes to accessing those services, we'll be able to provide that very seamless transition, and they'll be able to access those services a lot easier through the provision of our one-stop shop, right throughout the country. Because at the moment, as I say, it's a very fragmented system, it's very hard to access those services, particularly the services you require at a particular time. So by the Commonwealth taking over full funding and policy responsibility for all of the aged care sector, and also through the provision of one-stop shops, we'll be providing much greater access for our older Australians to get those aged care services when they do need them.
Secondly, we're providing more aged care places right across the country, particularly through our zero interest loans initiative. We previously had this underway, and we've had quite a lot of providers that have applied for this in the past, and this provides them access to loans at low interest rates. And they'll be able to provide that 2,500 more beds through that. So that means greater access to capital to build more nursing homes, so there'll be more beds in place. And also through our funding of $120 million when it comes to funding multi-purpose services.
These are aged care services that exist primarily in rural and regional areas, so through this funding we'll be providing about 286 sub-acute beds or bed equivalents in those areas of rural and regional Australia in terms of accessing more aged care beds. It's very important that we're taking pressure off the hospitals through this aged care package, particularly through increasing funding to GPs to attend to nursing homes and attend to older Australians there. That way, they don't have to enter hospitals prematurely because of an illness, because we're providing greater incentives to GPs to come to nursing homes to provide those services to them.
So overall, this package today of $739 million is about providing greater access for older Australians to get the aged care services they need, when they require them. And we're going to be doing that by being the main policy and funder of all aged care services. We're providing more aged care beds right across the country, and we're also at the same time taking that pressure off our hospitals. And this is all part of our commitment to providing better health outcomes for all Australians, regardless of where they live.
PM: Okay, thanks Justine, and over to you folks for some questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is this $739 million new money? Where is it coming from?
PM: Well we've made provision for this for the future, and it's an important new investment in the system. The other thing I'd say about this investment, following on from some questions I saw earlier today, is that I'd say to the states and territories it is fundamental that we get the overall reform of this new national health and hospital system right, before we then fund the expansion of the system in the future.
You've got to get these things right. If you don't deal with the reform of the system, you're consigning yourself to a future of cost-shift, blame-shift and waste, and I don't believe the Australian public will support signing a new blank cheque to the states and territories in the absence of fixing up the fundamentals of the system. That's what we're on about.
JOURNALIST: Will this be enough to get Mr Brumby onboard?
PM: That's a question, of course, for you to address to Mr Brumby, and of course to the other Premiers. Many of the Premiers, I mentioned Premier Bligh this morning, have raised with me directly the concerns they have about the long-term provision of aged care, and how it intersects with the hospital system. Also, Premier Keneally has done so, and a number of the other Premiers as well. So our response is to say here is our future proposal for a structure- local hospital networks, local primary care networks, and local aged care networks working together to best support the needs of senior Australians.
But secondly, it's built on the overall reform to the system. We've got to fix the fundamentals of the system to deal with cost-shift, blame-shift, waste, duplication and overlap- and then fund the growth in the system that so many of our senior Australians want to see.
JOURNALIST: Will you consider raising the GST to pay for rising health costs?
PM: Well, our commitment in relation to GST has been fundamental, and we believe that that setting is absolutely right. We believe that with proper planning for the future, and through new financial arrangements between the Commonwealth and the states, we can get it right for the future as well. Remember, what we're doing is saying to the states and territories, here is a proportion of your GST payments dedicated to a new national hospitals fund. And secondly, we, the Australian Government, becoming the dominant funders of the future growth of the system as well. That, I believe, is the basis of a reasonable arrangement for the states and territories.
JOURNALIST: Roger Corbett has been very critical- what would you say?
PM: Any Australian is entitled to put their point of view. But can I say this- we want a system which eliminates waste, duplication and overlap, and the excessive bureaucracy which currently exists within the system, so that we can fund the growth that the system needs for the future, for more hospital beds, more doctors, more nurses.
JOURNALIST: Are you basically preparing for a referendum, a week out from COAG?
PM: Well, I believe that it's important to work as constructively as possible with all State Premiers and Chief Ministers, Labor and Liberal, big states, small states, to try and negotiate an agreement. I've also been equally clear for some years now that if we cannot negotiate an agreement by consensus, then, of course, we have said we'd seek a further mandate from the people. The Australian Government's position hasn't changed on that. And I've always said that my preference is to negotiate a new National Health and Hospitals Network by agreement with the states and territories, and I'll be putting every effort into doing so with all the Premiers in the week, in the seven days remaining between now and when COAG meets.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Victorian Government said that you'd need 10,000 aged care beds over the next decade. The funding you've announced today wouldn't be enough to cover Victoria's needs, let alone the rest of the country's.
PM: Well, can I say again with respect to the Victorian Government's ask for further funding. As I said in my remarks earlier today, the Australian Government will not be providing a blank cheque to any state Government, because we need to see the fundamental health and hospital system fixed, duplication and waste removed, before we invest in the future growth of the system.
The Australian public, also, won't stand a bar of states and territories being out there asking for a blank cheque before we fix the duplication, waste and overlap in the system. And then, the Australian public expect us to invest in the future growth of the system. That's our approach. That's why we have outlined this clear-cut plan, the National Health and Hospitals Network plan, which I released at the National Press Club six weeks ago. It is about fundamental, structural, functional funding reform for the future- and, based on that, the Australian Government's preparedness to invest in growth for the future as well.
But you know something, you can't just get a blank cheque on the basis of a system which currently does not work, and which wastes taxpayers' money.
JOURNALIST: With regard to NAPLAN testing, (inaudible) with the teachers?
PM: Well let's see of course what our friends from the Australian Education Union have to say on that. But can I say that the Australian Government is- let me say again- that the Australian Government is on the side of parents. And we're on the side of My School, because we want to lift the standards of all Australian schools. Therefore, the Government won't be intimidated by any industrial tactics by anybody, because we believe this reform is necessary for the future. Mums and Dads across the country want to see how their schools are performing, and how we lift the performance of those schools in the future.
Therefore, it's important we get on with the business of this. I think it's also very important on this debate for Mr Abbott to finally make up his mind, rather than sitting on the fence. Is he on the side of parents, who want to see this reform done? Or, is he supporting the Australian Education Union, who it seems at this stage want to undermine this reform?
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well, let's take this one step at a time. But you know something, the Australian Government's resolve is clear-cut. Mums and dads right across Australia, schools right across the country, want to see how their schools are performing and how we lift the quality of the performance of each school. It doesn't matter where you come from. Small towns, large cities, state schools, non-Government schools, people actually want to see the performance of their schools lifted. That's what My School is all about. That's what the NAPLAN tests are all about. That's what Julia Gillard's allocation of special investments for schools which are underperforming is all about.
I don't believe anyone should be fearful of transparency. We need to have a transparent system which is all about lifting the standards of our schools.
JOURNALIST: Does your health plan include Indigenous health?
PM: It certainly does, and on that question I might turn for some elaboration to the Health Minister, who's been speaking this morning with Indigenous leaders this morning here as well.
ROXON: Yeah, thank you very much. You probably would be aware that as part of our top priorities for the negotiations of the 2008 COAG Agreement- where we were able to deliver a 50% increase in hospital funding, which has been flowing to our hospitals from July last year- that we also prioritise two other areas, three other areas in fact. Indigenous health, workforce reform, and prevention. So $1.6 billion was committed to Indigenous health. We regarded it as one of the top priorities. That funding is being rolled out now, as we speak. And of course, some very important reforms, particularly in primary care, but across primary care, hospitals and aged care, will have a flow-on benefit to our Indigenous communities.
For example, activity-based funding for our hospitals where there are loading for rural and regional service delivery, and the particular complexity of patients, of which Indigenous patients obviously are a category where extra care is often required, shows how our plan is designed to make sure that Indigenous patients are given the care that they need, along with all other Australians. But COAG prioritised big ticket investments for November 2008, that money is already flowing, and of course we've been very careful to make sure that the design of our new National Health and Hospitals Network will deliver to all patients, but particularly to those who might have specific needs.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
ROXON: Yeah look, a lot of detailed work has already been done. Some of that money has already been spent. I can follow up with you offline if you like, the work that we've been doing with our health specialists to be able to deliver those services. That program is going to plan, and I think people have been very happy that the $58 million is allocated for what is a targeted need within the Indigenous community. But I can follow that up with you offline.
PM: Folks, can I just conclude with this, because we're due at a meeting with the Australian- the Queensland Nurses' Union, we're a bit late for it now. Six weeks ago, on behalf of the Australian Government, I released this plan on a new National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia, the NHHN. In that report, I said that in the period following its release, we would be announcing further growth plans for various parts of the health and hospitals system. And we've been doing so, over recent weeks.
What I'd also like to confirm to each and every one of you today is that later today, we'll be presenting the states with the Australian Government's final position, in documentary form, for them to consider in the lead-up to COAG. This is consistent with what I outlined at the National Press Club, consistent with the statements we have made since then, and will be documented in the final policy position that we put to the states and territories some time later today.
Thank you for your time, we'll be late for the nurses- and I don't want to make the nurses grumpy.