Doorstop with Minister for Health and NSW Minister for Health
23 September 2018
PRIME MINISTER: It’s great to be here with Brad, the New South Wales Government and the Commonwealth Government are working together very closely across a whole range of issues. Of course the New South Wales Government has signed up to our better hospitals plan, that's $9 billion of investment going into New South Wales hospitals as a result of that agreement, in addition. That's welcome.
But what I'm here to announce today with Brad and with Greg, is our commitment to $175 million over the next four years, for an additional 30 MRI licenses. That's ten we're announcing today, that includes right here at Mount Druitt Hospital and another nine around the country. These have been independently assessed on the basis of need and distance and all the normal criteria which is used to assess where these MRI licenses go. That's going to support 400,000 people over the next four years, who are going to get access to these procedures using Medicare. That means in a place like Mount Druitt Hospital, where we have the highest bulk billing rate in the country at 99 per cent, that means you’ve got Australians that are able to access important medical treatments. I want to commend the New South Wales Government for putting the machine in and we're turning up and doing our bit by putting the license in. We've already seen what it means in nearby hospitals, where they can get 10,000 people through these procedures when they've got the MRI license in place. I know the team here at Mount Druitt are doing their best to make sure they can reach a similar level of treatment and service.
So our Government is absolutely committed to ensuring quality health services all around the country. We're committed to Medicare and we're not just saying that, we're doing it. The reason we can invest $175 million, whether it's in MRI licenses or $30 billion in the future of our hospitals is because we are running a strong economy. It was only just this week that Australia's AAA credit rating was affirmed and updated onto a stable footing. When you can manage your health budget, when you can drive a strong economy, that's when you can make these investments. That's what the Australian people - whether it's here in Western Sydney, or anywhere else around the country - they can rely on our promises on Medicare, our guarantee on Medicare, because we know how to drive an economy that can pay for it.
Greg, why don’t you take us through the announcement, mate?
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Thanks very much to Scott and to Brad, but also to our incredible staff here. Whether it's James, or Andrew, Sue Anne or Brett, or David or all of the others, it's just a privilege to meet and work with them.
MRIs are about saving lives and protecting lives. Here, at Mount Druitt, they're already being used for cancer diagnosis, for stroke detection. We saw examples of where the MRI was able to detect a stroke where other forms of diagnostic procedures were not able to do that. They’ve been used for neurology, they’re being used for musculoskeletal trauma. So, really critical and in some cases, life-saving or life preserving activities and diagnosis.
As part of that, I'm delighted that the Prime Minister has agreed and announced that we'll invest $175 million including new MRI licenses. On average these will be in the order of up to $1.8 million a year of investment in local health services. But above all else, it's about better diagnosis and better treatment. As the Prime Minister said 10 licenses, commencing as of 1 November, which have already been identified on the basis of need. Another 20 licenses to be allocated through an expression of interest process which will be opened tomorrow for applications. So, these are critical.
Here in New South Wales, we know that there is Mount Druitt as well as Northern Beaches, the extraordinary new hospital there. We have two in Queensland, including Pindara and Toowoomba. Royal Darwin Hospital. We have St John of God Midland in Western Australia and Kalgoorlie, Mount Barker in South Australia and Monash Children’s and Sale Hospital in Victoria. But we’re now opening it up to the country. You can only do these things, as the Prime Minister says, if you’ve got a strong economy and good analysis. I would note with a degree of sorrow that the ALP has budgeted $80 million for 20 machines. The actual cost is probably $120 million on our work, our analysis and our budgeting. To be short by 50 per cent is a major black hole and if you can't get your figures right on the hundreds of millions of dollars, you can never get your figures right on a trillion dollar economy.
So I think the point there is, they can't even manage one program. Mr Shorten needs to explain why he got his figures so dramatically wrong.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Greg and Brad will be very happy about the Northern Beaches, I'm sure. A great local member up there, I’ve known Brad up there for a long time. Happy to take questions, or would you like to make any comment yourself, about today’s announcement Brad?
THE HON. BRAD HAZZARD MP, NSW MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Just that it’s great. It's amazing, excellent for the community.
PRIME MINISTER: Fantastic, wonderful.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister yesterday, Labor announced more money for MRIs, has that pushed you into this announcement today?
PRIME MINISTER: No. As Greg just explained to you, they couldn't get even the numbers right yesterday.
Our process for doing this has been going for some time. There is, as you’d imagine, quite a deliberative process to assess on the basis of need and identify the 10 locations that we have announced today. That doesn't happen in 24 hours. That happens over a much more extensive process. So this is part of our commitment to health services across the country.
You know, I don't set my agenda based on what the Labor Party is doing. I set it based on what the needs of the community is doing and what our comprehensive process is for delivering what is $175 million investment. Properly costed, properly thought through and laid out for these first 10 and another 20 to go. Those 20 will become operational, those licenses, at the beginning of March next year.
JOURNALIST: Since 2013, the Coalition has only issued five of these licenses, why have you been so slow to –
PRIME MINISTER: Just before the 2013 election in the dying days of the previous government, they made a commitment to over 200. So we’ve been rolling that out. I mean for years and years, there wasn't much happening and then just before the 2013 election - and we welcomed it - the previous government had made that commitment. So we have been implementing all of those. Now, we're adding more to them. I think that's a good thing. I think it's great that everybody on all sides of politics wants to have these MRI machines out there. I think it's fantastic, but the only way you can actually do it - you can make all the promises you like - but you’ve got to be able to pay for it.
Under our Government, with our record of economic management, we can.
JOURNALIST: What’s your reaction to Tanya Plibersek's announcement?
PRIME MINISTER: Can I stay on MRIs for a minute, I know we’ve had a couple of questions but before we sort of move off MRI of health matters. Happy to talk about other issues, but … if there are no others? Obviously not, okay then, politics.
JOURNALIST: What’s your reaction to Tanya Plibersek's announcement on the gender pay gap?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, our Government has got a very good record here. We've taken the gender pay gap, since we came to government down from 17.2 per cent to 14.5 per cent. Now, when Labor were in power, it went from 15.5 per cent up to 17.2 per cent.
So let's be clear; under Labor, the gender pay gap got bigger.
Under us, under our Government, it's gotten smaller.
Now there's more work to do, there's more to be done here. The reason we've being able to get the gender pay gap down is because we've got more women in work than ever before. We're investing in affordable child care right across the country and that's making an impact. The stronger economy is creating more economic opportunities, so lower taxes, stronger small and medium businesses.
There is already a reporting arrangement that is there for companies with more than 1,000 employees to report on how they're tracking. As a Government we're very pleased we have there fact that we have female representation on government boards at a record level, a higher level than it was when we came to government. We track those sorts of statistics as a Government when we look at board appointments. Half of the top public servants running our Commonwealth agencies, it's a 50/50 split now male and female. So we take those types of things, we monitor them and we make sure we’re always improving in that area and I would be hoping that companies would be doing the same thing. They're already collecting that information.
So we're narrowing the pay gap. Under Labor, it blew out. Under the Coalition, it's contracted. Again, there's more to do. But the way I want to do that is by actually getting everyone to work together. I think that’s the way, I don't want to create tensions in workplaces. I don't want to set one set of employees against another set of employees. I don't think that's the constructive way to do this. We're open to all suggestions but these things are already reported at a sector-wide level and at an economy-wide level. I would be encouraging companies where they wish to and on that basis, to be an employer of choice. They can tell that as part of their story, if they wish. But before you went down that path, I think you’d want to be confident you weren't just going to be setting up conflict in the workplace.
What matters is narrowing the pay gap, that is what matters. That what we're achieving. That's what I'm focused on.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you’ve committed to continuing aged care reform already, without going into the Royal commission. Does that include the other 20 recommendations [inaudible] review?
PRIME MINISTER: Greg may want to comment on this as well, but we're going to walk and chew gum when it comes to aged care and we have been. There's been some pretty useful bipartisanship on aged care changes over the last eight years. When we were in Opposition, we supported some unpopular changes of the previous government and that has been returned in some measure by the Opposition. But I was concerned this was starting to wane. This is why I think the Royal Commission provides a very good opportunity to provide a platform outside of politics, so we can all focus on the things that need to be focused on and give Australians the assurances they expect to have.
So yes, we'll continue to make changes. We will continue to make the system better. But we’ll also at the same time, ensure the Royal Commission provides a basis out of over the next 10-20 years and the terms of reference will reflect that, about what the future demands are.
Because, you know, the country's demography is changing. You’ve got people going into residential aged care later, in more acute areas of need. You’ve got more people through our in-home care investments being able to stay home for longer and that's changing how it works. We need to be conscious about what those changes are going to mean for the system in in the future. So the Royal Commission into aged care has also importantly has a very proactive element to. Yes, it's looking at things that have happened, but it's importantly looking to the future and what we need to do in the future for the system to work well for everyone.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, back on the pay gap issue? Labor is promising to make large businesses release pay parity data to the Government. Why haven't the Coalition announced a similar policy?
PRIME MINISTER: Look there are industry codes and others that do this. I'm not saying no to it, I'm not ruling it out. What I am pointing out is that under our policies, the pay gap got smaller and under Labor the pay gap got bigger.
So you’ve always got to look at what people do, not just what they say on this issue. It is, I believe, a commitment, I would hope, from everybody who serves in politics to see that pay gap narrower. But I don’t want to set one set of employees against another. You’ve got to think through this as to how that will that play out on the actual ground? What will that mean? Will people in companies, when they look at each side of each other, from desk to desk, go: “Did I not get a pay rise, because you got one?”
At an aggregate level, an industry level data, I think you can still have a good idea where you're tracking on things and you need to. As I said, under us, the pay gap has gone from 17.2 to 14.5. 14.5 per cent is better than what the Labor Party inherited back in 2007. So we've got it back to levels that Labor allowed to run away with. We've got it back and it's coming down. But I want policies that bring Australians together, I don't want to create tensions and anger and anxiety in the workplace. That's not how you achieve these goals. You’ve got to bring everybody with you.
I mean - I know this isn't the Labor Party has said, or maybe it was, I just saw it reported - this idea of “shaming” and all these sorts of things. I don't think that's how you get people to work together.
JOURNALIST: What about transparency in the workplace?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, transparency is important and I think there are a lot of opportunities for companies to do that. So I’ll have a close look at this, but what I want to be really satisfied about is, will it actually help people achieve the goal? Will it actually help companies work together to achieve these goals? Will it actually get us to where we want to go?
If it does, well, you know, I'm open minded to these things. Our track record as a Government demonstrates that we're getting results here. We don't talk this, we walk it. What we've achieved over the last five years through a stronger economy is record levels of female participation in the work force. We're getting movement on this. We're heading in the right direction and we want to keep heading in that direction. I'm open to any suggestion that will help us get there. But it has got to be something that I think is going to work.
JOURNALIST: Speaking of working environments, what do you make of these claims of bullying involving a woman in Ken Wyatt's office?
PRIME MINISTER: Well as you know the claims are being made against a woman in that office. They're just that and there's an independent process that is being pursued to look at those matters, as you expect. I don't think it would be very helpful for me or anyone else to prejudge that. But the claims relate to a female member of Ken's staff and other members of staff who have made claims against her. The appropriate place for that to be settled is through that independent process. I think everybody involved deserves the respect of allowing that process to follow without jumping to any conclusions or doing anything else like that. I think that would be very unfair if that were to happen.
JOURNALIST: The Australian Education Union is threatening to campaign in marginal electorates against your schools funding policy. Are you concerned about that?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm just going to brace these guys for a shock; the union movement is going to campaign against the Liberal and National Party and tell lies. You know, that's what they do at elections. I mean, honestly.
We are increasing funding for state schools at record levels, record levels.
Only under the union movement and the Labor Party, can one plus one equal zero. When you increase funding, they say you're cutting funding.
Labor lied at the last election about Medicare, they lied.
Labor are going to lie at the next election about everything else.
Don't believe Labor's lies. Don't believe the unions' lies.
Believe what you're seeing here today, $175 million commitment to ensure Medicare bulk-billed access to MRI treatments, which will take the treatments here or procedures here from 4,000 up to around 10,000 a year. That's a fact. That's a fact and that's happening because of what we're doing.
That's our commitment to Medicare. We're making the same commitments to schools, we're making the same commitments to aged care. We are delivering the essential services that Australians rely on, because we know how to run a strong economy. You can take that promise to the bank.
Thanks very much. Great to be here.
