It’s not that difficult to understand - but probably way too complex for those who still think Labor can break with tradition, deliver surpluses, a lower cost of living, a cooler planet and shrinking seas. Treasury records show there never was a reduction in funding because any notional reduction was based on an agreement that, if private health insurance subscribers exceeded a particular threshold, the federal government would be able to claw back some funding. As it happened, the Howard government’s private health rebates and Lifetime Health Cover were so successful that private health insurance participation soared beyond all expectation and gave health ministers Patterson and Michael Wooldridge, before her, the right, under the agreement with the states, to reduce funding by about $3 billion - an option Senator Patterson chose not to exercise. The 2003-08 Australian Health Care Agreement with the states provided a 17 per cent real increase in funding. As I wrote at the time, for Rudd and his ever-diminishing claque of supporters to claim $1 billion was ripped out of health by Abbott (who was not minister at the time) on the basis of a notional reduction (that was never made) agreed to by the states, should the Howard government be successful (which it was) is a nonsense. Treasury figures show the Howard government more than doubled annual spending on health and aged care, from $19.5 billion in 1995-96 to $51.8 billion in 2007-08. If Rudd wants to stamp his little feet and pout about a real scandal he might like to explain why it was necessary for the Australian taxpayers to pick up the $800,000-plus cost of the pre-election flight he took to Afghanistan for a photo-opportunity with his wife Therese Rein. The 20-man group flew in one of the RAAF’s brand new KC-30A multi-role tankers, a modified A-330 Airbus wide-body twin-engine passenger jet, which can seat 300. The party spent four hours at Tarin Kowt following the 20-hour flight then turned for home having delivered no more than an election stunt.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 07:52:15 +0000
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