Saturday 17 May 2014

ABBOTT BUDGET CUTS $3 BILLION FROM AUSTRALIA'S PUBLIC HOSPITALS

Media Release


Catherine King MP.

Shadow Minister for Health


Wednesday, 14 May 2014


Tony Abbott has made a mockery of his pre-election promise that there would be no cuts to health by cutting $3 billion from Australia’s public hospitals.

In addition to walking away from funding guarantees under the National Health Reform Agreement, the Abbott Government will index its contribution to hospital funding through a combination of CPI and population growth.  This will result in a massive $1.16 billion cut to public hospitals in 2017-18 and contribute to the Abbott Government’s plan to cut $80 billion from health and education by 2025.

This highlights the Abbott Government’s shameless Budget broken promises, with Tony Abbott repeatedly telling the public:

I can assure your listeners that there will be no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no cuts to pensions, no change to the GST
-    Tony Abbott - ABC AM – 5 SEPTEMBER 2013

And again:

No cuts to health in fact health goes up. No cuts to schools in fact schools go up. No change to pensions, no change to the GST. It's just - they are just bare-faced lies from a desperate Prime Minister.
-    Tony Abbott - SUNRISE – 6 SEPTEMBER 2013

And one more time from Mr Abbott:

I want to give people this absolute assurance, no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no changes to pensions and no changes to the GST.
-    Tony Abbott - INSIDERS – 1 SEPTEMBER 2013

The States and Territories will get $1 billion less through an adjustment in the National Health Reform Agreement and there will be a $201 million hit to state budgets when the Abbott Government walks away from the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Public Hospital Service.

Tony Abbott is asking the States and Territories to find money they do not have or be forced to cut nurses, sack doctors, close hospital beds, put off infrastructure upgrades and sack frontline health workers.

The New South Wales Treasurer has already said ‘NSW treasury estimates the state is being asked to find an extra $1.2 billion over four years in our health budget’.

These cuts will increase emergency department waiting times, increase elective surgery waiting times, and reduce the number of hospital beds across the country.

The Australian Medical Association has already warned that state budgets will be in danger of being ‘overrun by public hospital cuts’.

 These cuts are a clear broken promise from a Prime Minister who cannot be trusted when it comes to health.

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