Scott Morrison is hoping to scuttle any Labor health cuts campaign before it begins, offering the states a $1.25bn sweetener in his first meeting with state leaders since becoming prime minister.
The health funding announcement, delivered ahead of Wednesday’s Coag meeting in Adelaide, forms part of Morrison’s attempt to keep focus on the economy as he inches closer to the federal election, with three Labor premiers in charge of must-win states.
In a bid to head off Labor’s health cut campaigns, additional funding is being offered to governments, community groups, health and hospital services and research institutions to provide specialist services.
Examples include cancer treatments in rural and regional areas, drug and alcohol abuse services, including programs targeting meth additions, mental health programs, as well as preventative and chronic health programs, and can include funding for additional staff.
The funding pool is similar to Labor’s “better hospital fund”, which offers more total funding, but over a longer period of time. Where Labor has pledged $2.8bn over eight years, Morrison is offering $1.25bn over four years for much the same program.
“We will deliver more doctors, more nurses and more health services into every state and territory,” Morrison said in a statement. “That is the tangible benefit of a strong economy and it’s why I am committed to keeping our economy strong.”
Health has been a particular sore point for the Coalition, with Labor campaigns focusing on health cuts helping to win the Longman byelection, as well as proving effective in the recent Victoria state election.
Morrison, like Malcolm Turnbull before him, who urged party supporters to call out “Labor lies”, is attempting to combat Labor’s future election campaign by focusing on total additional public hospital funding, which will hit $28.7bn in 2024-25, from $13.3bn in 2012-13.
Labor’s attack has focused on the funding formula change announced in Joe Hockey’s first budget under Tony Abbott in 2014, which cut the amount of funding state’s expected to receive over the forwards.
The government said independent analysis from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed government funding 6.2% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2016-17, while the National Health Reform Agreement would see another $30bn in additional funding delivered to state and territory public hospitals.
Morrison is aiming for as much consensus as possible in his first meeting with state and territory leaders since becoming prime minister, after cancelling the scheduled Coag meeting for October shortly after the federal leadership spill.
But while an increase in health funding is what the government is hoping to focus on, it is the discussion with states over migration levels, particularly those led with Labor, which is expected to make for one of the biggest fights, with so far only the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, on board.
The migration issue is one of the first items on the agenda but, so far, the bulk of states remain sceptical of Morrison’s plan for a more collaborative process.
Energy, which has dominated recent discussions, is expected to play a smaller role, as the state and territory leaders look for consensus on education funding, as well as social issues, such as bullying, domestic violence and euthanasia.
But the Australian Council of Social Services hopes to gain agreement for a proposal that would see governments commit to higher energy performance standards when the National Construction Code is next updated in 2022, including mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties.
The plan would see energy bills lowered through better standards in homes, with Acoss’s Kellie Caught saying the proposal could, collectively, save households billions.
“The Morrison government says one of its top priorities is reducing electricity bills,” she said in a statement. “Up to 95% of homes have poor energy performance, so many people are now living in homes that are damp, too cold in winter and too hot in summer and people on low incomes have little means of escape from these weather extremes.
“Modelling done for Coag Energy Council shows that improving energy efficiency in existing homes by even just 1% would save Australian households $1.5bn a year.”
A new drought agreement is also expected to form part of the Coag discussions, while Morrison is also hoping to get agreement from the states for a commonwealth proposal for small business to be paid within 20 days.
