Can I first just make some comments on the Queensland floods. Sincere condolences for the family and friends of a woman who was found outside Ingham. 82 years of age. This is the second loss of life that we've seen in the Queensland floods. The Australian Government continues to provide every support possible. Jenny McAllister remains on the ground there working closely with the Premier, David Crisafulli. I'm in regular contact with David Crisafulli and will be personally engaging there as well.
To this afternoon's announcement, which is a cracker that I'm very pleased with. My Government, as you know, is very much committed to strengthening Medicare as part of building Australia's future. We understand that building Australia's future is more than just bricks and mortar. It's about the health services, the education that Australians need. And at a time where we're just had votes and have adopted the Free TAFE legislation through the House of Representatives, opposed by the Coalition. Budgets and government decisions are about priorities. Our priority is strengthening Medicare, not ensuring that every taxpayer pays for some to get a free lunch or a karaoke night or a weekend away at the cost of low and middle income earners. Australians rely upon Medicare as the centre of our health care. And today I can announce that we're delivering an additional $1.7 billion to properly fund public hospitals and health services next year. This funding will be delivered to states and territories to help cut waiting lists, to reduce waiting times in emergency rooms and to manage ramping. This matters to people. And this decision today will help save lives and lead to better outcomes for our nation's hospitals. This builds on what we're doing to strengthen Medicare, whether it be this additional support for our hospital system or of course, our support for primary health care. Our tripling of the bulk billing incentive, making medicines cheaper, the delivery of 87 Urgent Care Clinics providing the health care that people need when they need it. In 87 different locations around Australia, more than a million Australians, one third of whom are under the age of 15, have received the help that they need and all they've needed is their Medicare card, not their credit card. We know that there's more to do, but we know that this is absolutely central. Labor created Medicare and will protect it and will strengthen it. Under this new agreement, the Commonwealth contribution to state run hospitals will increase by 12 per cent to a record almost $34 billion in 2025-2026. To give you some idea of what that means, the Northern Territory gets the largest increase, a 30 per cent increase, as a result of the fact that they need this investment. Right across every state and territory this means a double digit increase in Commonwealth funding for their public hospitals. This is absolutely central. Health care was the first issue that I engaged in as a very young man. It's what brought me into politics. Nothing's more important than strengthening Medicare, helping to deliver the health care Australians need, and I'm very proud of today's announcement. The Minister.
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Well thank you, Prime Minister. This is a really landmark deal between the States, the Territories and the Commonwealth. There are around 700 public hospitals in Australia that employ around half a million hardworking doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and support staff. And for the 41 years of Medicare, a core part of the Medicare principles has been the universal access of Australians to a high quality public hospital system free of charge. The States operate the public hospitals, but the Commonwealth must always be a reliable partner to ensure that that core Medicare principle is always able to be enjoyed by every single Australian. We have a terrific public hospital system in Australia staffed by some of the best trained doctors, nurses and health professionals anywhere on the planet. But it is a hospital system under very, very serious pressure. Our population is getting older and it's getting sicker. There is more complex chronic disease in our community which is placing additional pressures on our hospital system as it is other parts of the health care system. But there is also still a long tail of COVID. There is a higher acuity in a whole range of disease areas that is impacting the public hospital system and ongoing workforce pressures that stem from the enormous pressure that our doctors, nurses and other professionals faced over those years of the emergency period of the pandemic. Because of increases in activity and demand for public hospitals and very big increases in in the prices, largely due to wage pressure in the public hospital system. Under existing arrangements, the Commonwealth share of public hospital funding is dropping and without intervention would drop substantially below 40 per cent of the total hospital budget of our system. The existing arrangements, just like in relation to the NDIS, simply aren't fit for purpose. And at the National Cabinet meeting the Prime Minister had with Premiers and Chief Ministers back in December 2023, our Government reaffirmed the Commonwealth's role as a reliable partner to states in the delivery of this core Medicare principle - public hospital system, accessible to all, completely free of charge. Now we've already invested in that commitment through 87 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, as the Prime Minister said. We've distributed additional funding to states, particularly to deal with longer stay older patients. That is older Australians who are frankly stuck in the hospital system for way beyond the clinically necessary time. A very significant pressure on the proper functioning of our hospital system. But the Prime Minister also committed to a new five year deal with states and territories that would ensure that the Commonwealth paid a fair share of the hospital operating budget. Now we've not been able to conclude a five year deal in time, in part because the Prime Minister rightly sought to ensure that we were able to get the NDIS reforms through with states and territories as well, in part because I think the WA Government has now gone into caretaker. And unlike schools funding arrangements, we are not legislatively able to do separate hospital funding agreements with separate jurisdictions. It is an all in arrangement. So all jurisdictions have agreed over recent days to a single year rollover agreement for 25-26, which in addition to the usual increases that they would be expecting under existing arrangements include this $1.7 billion top up. Now that will still result in states providing a growing share of the public hospital operating budget right across the country. But it is substantial additional funds from the Commonwealth to assist state governments, Liberal and Labor alike, with these additional pressures. And I want to just reinforce what the Prime Minister said about the Northern Territory. For well over a decade, the Northern Territory has received a grossly inequitable level of Commonwealth funding for its hospital system. Without intervention, the Commonwealth's share of funding for the NT public hospitals would drop well below 30 per cent, requiring the NT government to fund more than 70 per cent of the operating costs of arguably one of the most pressured public hospital systems in the jurisdiction. Well, our government is determined to fix this historical inequity. The 30 per cent increase in hospital funding for the NT will address something that should have been fixed at some time over the past decade. We are fixing it this year. It will make an enormous difference to a hospital system that faces some particularly unique pressures, whether in it's in Alice, in Darwin or in other parts of the system across the territory. If I can just finish by saying there could not be a clearer difference between this Prime Minister's approach to ensuring the Commonwealth is a reliable partner in the operation of this core part of the Medicare system, and the approach that Peter Dutton had when he was the Health Minister. Remember, instead of digging in and making sure that his government was a reliable partner, he tried to walk away from funding agreements that had been struck by Prime Minister Gillard with State and Territory governments, Liberal and Labor alike, and cut $50 billion from Commonwealth funding. Something that the Liberal Premier, Mike Baird then described as a kick in the guts. He tried to introduce an emergency department fee for every person presenting to one of the 9 million presentations we see to our EDs every single year. Well that's not this Prime Minister's approach. It's not this government's approach. Medicare is our highest priority and a properly functioning public hospital system is a core part of that.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much. We'll take questions on this first and then other questions.
JOURNALIST: That National Cabinet meeting you referred to, if the memory serves me correct, you extended the GST top up deal and agreed to lift the Commonwealth proportion of public hospital funding in return for the states agreeing to take over foundational supports for the NDIS. Is this money a part of that and is it conditional? If the states, which I understand haven't actually come on board yet on foundational agreements, don't meet it, do they get this 1.7 billion?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, in fact, what we're seeing is really constructive engagement from the states in the reform of NDIS and this agreement, to put it in real dollar terms of what it means. Commonwealth funding, the current financial year is $30.19 billion to the states. Next year it will be $33.91 billion. So, this is a really important agreement in recognition that we need to do more in recognition of how important this is to everyone. I hear stories about the delays that occur in emergency departments, the pressure that our public hospitals are under, what this funding will do when combined with the other measures we're doing to stop people having to go to an emergency department. That's what the million visits plus to Urgent Care Clinics is all about.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER: Health. We've got a $1.7 billion announcement and then I'm happy to take others.
JOURNALIST: Phil's question. So, the states are going to get access to this 1.7 billion without having to do any of the commitments around the foundational supports? And if that's the case, doesn't it seem like the states have just run down the clock on talks and got what they wanted anyway in terms of hospital federal funding for at least this first year?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that's not right. States and Territory governments are engaged, including on foundational reform, in putting in place the mechanisms and the discussions have been really constructive. Those measures are being put in place. Today, as Mark has said, the WA Government goes into caretaker mode. We have managed to get this agreement signed up. State and territory jurisdictions are very positive about this and indeed there's been ongoing dialogue between myself on a bilateral basis, I've spoken to a range of Premiers and Chief Ministers over recent days in order to get this across the line.
MINISTER BUTLER: Can I add to that? The Prime Minister's right. The Commonwealth is very satisfied with progress on NDIS rule reform and also the development of foundational supports. But states and territories understand that the conclusion of a five year deal, which is what they're after and what was committed by the Prime Minister at the National Cabinet meeting in December 2023, remains tied to that NDIS reform process continuing as it would. And so this is a one year rollover. It does not deliver exactly what the states would have got in the first year of a five year agreement. The negotiation of the five year agreement continues between jurisdictions and remains tied to positive progress on NDIS reform.
JOURNALIST: One of the biggest issues facing public hospitals has been the mass resignation of psychiatrists in New South Wales. What's your view on the way that situation's evolved and will this funding help?
MINISTER BUTLER: Well, obviously this will provide additional funding to the New South Wales Government, which is the jurisdiction you're talking about, Natassia, to deal with wage pressure in the the system. And there is wage pressure right across the public health system for nurses and for parts of the medical workforce as well. So, additional funding obviously enables them to deal with some of those pressures. But the exact wage negotiation you're referring to is obviously a matter for the New South Wales Government. I've made it clear in my view that the mass resignation of such an important part of the public health workforce would be really quite catastrophic for a range of consumers and their families and the system more broadly. So, encouraging all parties to get back to the table and try to resolve this, but also at the same time voicing my enormous admiration for the work of public psychiatrists. This is one of the toughest jobs in the health system that we have. I want to see that resolved. I'm sure everyone in New South Wales does as well.
PRIME MINISTER: How many more questions have we got on this? Can I get an indication? Just so one, two. And there was one over here. Okay, so we'll do those three and then we'll open up more broadly. There you go.
JOURNALIST: We've just seen today that there's been increasing blowouts in state budgets, that the ratings agencies are threatening to downgrade states. Are you worried that over the time the Federal Government is going to have to pick up an even larger tab for state governments? Is this just the start of a much larger funding from the federal coffers?
MINISTER BUTLER: Well, a tenet of our hospital funding agreements going back to the agreement struck by Prime Minister Gillard, has been funding growth caps that the Commonwealth insists on. So, that gives us control in terms of our fiscal exposure, but also ensures that there's a lever there to encourage efficient delivery of public hospital services by states. That remains the position of the Commonwealth. It remains a central part of our negotiating position, was very clearly articulated in the agreement, if I can call it that, from the National Cabinet meeting in December 2023. That also is a part of the NDIS agreement between states and territories. I guess what today's announcement reflects is the growth funding cap in place right now is not fit for purpose, given the price growth in the system, particularly through wages growth, but also the activity growth we're seeing in a system that's under enormous pressure because of those things. I talked about an ageing population, more complex chronic disease. So, yes, we will maintain disciplines that control fiscal exposure from the Commonwealth and we'll do that going forward.
JOURNALIST: Commonwealth funding to public hospitals increases every year because hospitals cost more to run every year. Hospital inflation, health inflation runs higher than household inflation and there's a 6.5% cap in acknowledgement of that. Is this just business as usual? Is this just the annual increase or does it go beyond the 6.5% cap?
PRIME MINISTER: No. Could I indicate very clearly this is additional funding. This is additional funding to states and territories. That will make an enormous difference. And if you look at New South Wales, for example, the extra one off additional funding is $407 million. In the media release, you'll have all the state and territory figures for all eight jurisdictions.
JOURNALIST: Steph just asked my question, so if I may, can I please take you on to the Middle East? I mean, this is a huge breaking story. We would be very keen to hear your reaction. Donald Trump, the US President, says the US will take over and own the Gaza Strip. Do you support that position, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've said before that I don't intend to have a running commentary on the President of the United States' statements - hang on, it's not a dialogue, if you let me answer. What I would say is that Australia's position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year, and it was 10 years ago and it was under the Howard Government. The Australian Government support, on a bipartisan basis, a two state solution in the Middle East.
JOURNALIST: But he's blown that apart, hasn't he Prime Minister, with his statement because you know, the US is such a big hand in this? Do you think what he's proposing is in accordance with international law? And can you confirm you're considering mandatory minimum sentences for terrorism offences in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: That was a smoother segue than that by the SBS. So, congratulations. Congratulations Andrew. On the first - our position remains the same. We want to see, as have Australian Governments for a long period of time, going back to John Howard's comments about the need to find a settlement to the Palestinian question. We have had a long standing bipartisan position for a two state solution. On the issue of antisemitism we have a very clear position. I want to see people who are perpetrators of this - what are crimes - hunted down, put in the clink and dealt with. That's what I want. And we'll provide all of the authorities the resources to do so.
JOURNALIST: A related question on antisemitism, PM. There's a bill before Parliament now on hate speech. There's an amendment from the crossbench on making it a criminal offence to promote hatred. Do you see any merit in that amendment against promoting hatred?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's a range of amendments and I understand, I quite frankly, have been dealing with Premiers and Chief Ministers. I'm sure there'll be more than one amendment from more than one crossbencher. We'll deal with that. We're engaging constructively. I want to see as much support as possible for the legislation and to do it in a way that gathers that. I don't think this should be an issue of political disagreement. We saw yesterday the Parliament come together and unanimously support a resolution.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there's been two people arrested in Perth today for the antisemitic graffiti that happened there over the weekend. Just following up those comments you said just before. These two people appear to be Australian citizens. Are you aware if there have been any non-citizens who've been convicted of antisemitic crimes over the past six months, year, sort of since it's been going on? And how are we keeping tabs on whether the people's visas should be cancelled?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you've answered your own question. You've answered your own question. I'm not aware of any non-citizens. But in terms of the arrests, there have been a range of arrests made, including under Operation Avalite and by state and territory jurisdictions. And what that indicates is that the police are getting on with the job that they have and that's a good thing.
JOURNALIST: Do you acknowledge that what President Trump has said today does little to further progress a two state solution? And have you spoken to the President since his inauguration?
PRIME MINISTER: Again, multiple questions. I refer to my previous answers, which are that Australia supports, on a bipartisan basis, a two state solution in the Middle East.
JOURNALIST: You have been consistent about the need for countries to follow international rules. You've argued whether it's China or Russia against blatant land grabs. Would what Donald Trump is proposing fit that category?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not going to have a running commentary on statements by the President of the United States. I've made that very clear.
JOURNALIST: This is no ordinary statement though. This is a potentially history changing statement and there's a real prospect that the US will ask allies like Australia to support it. Will Australia? Are you prepared to send Australian military into the Gaza in some sort of coalition of the willing peacekeeping mission? Is Australia prepared to help fund the rebuilding of Gaza?
PRIME MINISTER: When it comes to our position, we have not received any request regarding the rebuilding of Gaza. What we have said, though, clearly we've supported a ceasefire, we've supported hostages being released and we've supported aid getting into Gaza. There is a need to do that and Australia is willing to assist getting aid into Gaza to provide that support. We have done so. That is consistent with what Australian Governments have always done, which is to provide support.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, to Donald Trump again, it's not just what he said, it's the finer detail. He says he wants to resettle Palestinians away. He said he wanted to turn the Gaza Strip into the Riviera of the Middle East. Can you at least concede that that is not conducive of Middle East peace?
PRIME MINISTER: My job is to give Australia's position and Australia's position is to support a bipartisan position, one where both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Australia regularly speaks out about violations of international laws. Myanmar, China, Russia. If we don't speak clearly about our position on whether this is a violation of international law, doesn't that undermine our credibility when we're speaking on those other issues?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all. What I've said though, is that we will be consistent as we are. But I've also said that I'm not going to, as Australia's Prime Minister, give a daily commentary on statements by the US President. My job is to support Australia's position. My job here today - I tell you what Australians will be concerned about. They're concerned about Medicare, they're concerned about education, they're concerned about whether they have access to Free TAFE. The debate that we've just had. I'll continue to engage in that. What we do is we take considered positions when matters of international affairs are raised. And we do so in a manner that is consistent with Australia's values. And I can't be stronger than saying what Australia's bipartisan position has been for a long period of time across multiple governments, across many decades, and of course the United Nations, when Australia played, historically, a very important role in the creation of the State of Israel. It's something that we and the Labor Party and my Government and other governments consistently since then have supported. But those governments have also supported what happened then, which was the creation of two states, not just one. And that remains my position and it has been a bipartisan position up to this point. Thanks very much.
