❓ Mr Whitely asks about federal Labor's funding commitment to WA hospitals. Dr Gallop contrasts Labor's specific promises with the Prime Minister's perceived lack of focus on WA, highlighting a $54 million pledge for various hospital initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 453Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC HOSPITAL FUNDING, FEDERAL LABOR COMMITMENT 453. Mr WHITELY to the Premier: I refer to Kim Beazley’s announcement on the weekend of a $545 million funding boost for public hospitals. Has any of that additional funding been promised for specific programs or projects in Western Australia? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
PUBLIC HOSPITAL FUNDING, FEDERAL LABOR COMMITMENT
I refer to Kim Beazley’s announcement on the weekend of a $545 million funding boost for public hospitals. Has any of that additional funding been promised for specific programs or projects in Western Australia? Dr GALLOP replied: It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP replied: It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
PUBLIC HOSPITAL FUNDING, FEDERAL LABOR COMMITMENT
I refer to Kim Beazley’s announcement on the weekend of a $545 million funding boost for public hospitals. Has any of that additional funding been promised for specific programs or projects in Western Australia? Dr GALLOP replied: It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP replied: It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
It is interesting that the Prime Minister was reported in The West Australian last week as saying that he did not intend to announce special programs for Western Australia as part of his election platform. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, Western Australia does not exist in terms of specific issues that have to be addressed. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, comes from Western Australia. He is offering specific proposals for health in Western Australia. I have just come from Bentley Hospital where the federal shadow Minister for Health, Jenny Macklin, announced that a Beazley Government would commit $54 million over four years to new funding initiatives in our public hospital system in Western Australia. Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Mr Day: That will go nowhere. Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP: So that will go nowhere. We have a $54 million commitment - no commitment from John Howard, but a clear commitment from Kim Beazley. This is how clear it is: there will be a $10 million boost for elective surgery, $9 million for convalescent care, $3 million for Bentley Hospital so that more convalescent beds can be created, $7.5 million for an emergency department at Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, $1.5 million for the emergency department at Swan District Hospital, $6 million to upgrade and expand cancer treatment and equipment capacity throughout the State, $6 million for medical equipment in rural hospitals, $5 million to improve mental health services, $3 million for improved maternity care and $3 million for palliative care. Let us compare that. On the Labor side, all of the state Labor leaders, most of whom are Premiers these days, in cooperation with the federal Labor Party are working out a plan of action for each of their States about how they can improve our system. That is what is called partnership and that is what we would see in operation with a Beazley Government. This is what has happened on the Liberal side. I went to the Council of Australian Governments - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
The SPEAKER: Member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP: The member should just listen; he might find this interesting. I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
I went to the Council of Australian Governments. I was sitting on one side and John Howard was on the other side, and I said to the Prime Minister, “Look, we are all very concerned about the crisis in aged care in Australia. We want to work out a strategy under which the States and the Commonwealth work together.” Do members know what his response was? It was, “There is no crisis in aged care in Australia”! Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Mr Day interjected. Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Dr GALLOP: The member for Darling Range should not talk to me about beds going out of the system. I was there at Mt Henry Health Service when it happened. I said that as a result of that closure there would be pressure on acute care beds in our hospital system. I was right and they were wrong. Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
Let us make a comparison. I will go back to the start. First, there is an Opposition soon to be Government conscious of the problem; secondly, there is a partnership between the Commonwealth Labor Party and the Labor States to bring about solutions; and, thirdly, specific commitments have been made to the public hospital system in Western Australia. I know whom I want in the Lodge in Canberra, and it is Kim Beazley.
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