The Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee chair Senator Scott Ryan said evidence presented to the committee on Thursday revealed, once again, the Gillard Government’s complete incompetence.
The committee learned the Victorian Government was completely hamstrung by the Gillard Government’s decision to slash health funding.
Officials from the Australian Bureau of Statistics admitted the amendment to population growth statistics – the reason the Gillard Government provided for the health cuts – was the largest they had ever seen. The officials told the committee that the amendment was three times larger than the next largest revision, five years earlier.
“No one could have seen this coming, least of all the states who manage our hospitals,” Senator Ryan said
Victorian Health Minister David Davis told the committee his Government had encouraged hospitals to make cuts to back-room services or procurement, rather than to front-line services.
“Without any capacity to foresee a cut of this magnitude, all of the consequences of these Commonwealth budget cuts were to be felt in less than six months,” Senator Ryan said. “When $107 million is pulled half-way through a year, the impact is bound to be felt in the community.”
The committee heard from a range of witnesses who agreed the Federal Government had completely mishandled the health funding cuts by making them retrospective, as well as covering the forward estimates.
The highly-regarded architect of Medicare, Dr John Deeble, and Professor Stephen Duckett of the Grattan Institute agreed the impact of the funding cuts were exacerbated when Health Minister Tanya Plibersek sought to apply them mid-way through the financial year.
Senior representatives from the Commonwealth Department of Health and the Department of Treasury confirmed to the committee that the announcement to restore funding – made by the Health Minister on Wednesday night – could have been made months ago.
“Victorians, and Australians, are craving certainty, something this Government has been completely incapable of providing,” Senator Ryan said.
“The Gillard Government has gone about these cuts in a way that emphasises its incompetence. It announced the cuts last year, causing Victorian doctors, nurses, and in particular, patients, an enormous amount of grief.”