Regional Australians have become the latest target of Labor’s desperate health funding lies.
Having ignored regional Australia throughout the election campaign, the only election commitment they are making is to attempt to deceive regional communities.
Their claims on reduced health funding are blatantly wrong.
The Liberal National Government has increased funding every year and will continue to deliver record funding to regional hospitals.
The Government is also investing in significant regional projects through our $1.3 billion Community Health and Hospitals Programme including $63.4 million for regional radiation oncology centres for cancer treatment and $100 million for regional clinical trials.
We have also established the Murray Darling Medical Schools Network as part of a $550 million Rural Workforce Strategy that will deliver 3,000 additional specialist GPs for rural Australia, over 3,000 additional nurses in rural general practice and hundreds of additional allied health professionals in rural Australia over 10 years.
This dishonesty from Labor comes as they re-announce the Morrison Government’s investment in mental health – as though it is their own policy.
Australians deserve better than this. We have made mental health priority and delivered a comprehensive mental health plan with annual funding of $4.8 billion in 2018-19.
Hospital, Medicare and medicines funding is at record levels as a strong economy delivers the essential services that people need. Australians cannot afford to turn back to Labor, when Bill Shorten was Assistant Treasurer and failed to manage the budget, and the Labor Government stopped listing medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
STATE Regional funding | FACT FUNDING 2013-14 | FACT FUNDING 2019-20 | FACT FUNDING 2024-25 | INCREASED NURSES | INCREASED GPS |
Victoria | $894 million | $1.6 billion | $1.9 billion | 2,900 | 1,400 |
NSW | $1.6 billion | $2.8 billion | $3.5 billion | 5,400 | 2,600 |
Queensland | $1.2 billion | $2.0 billion | $2.7 billion | 4,600 | 2,200 |
Tasmania | $260 million | $402 million | $494 million | 550 | 270 |
South Australia | $163 million | $236 million | $285 million | 340 | 160 |
NT | $125 million | $299 million | $454 million | 980 | 470 |
Western Australia | $286 million | $410 million | $528 million | 690 | 330 |
