The Morrison minority Liberal Government’s mid-year budget update is proof their only plans for health are cuts, cuts and more cuts – and putting doctors, nurses and patients last.
The 2018-19 MYEFO confirms what we all suspected – the Liberals are ignoring a groundswell of anger from the states and pushing ahead with a sneaky plan to shift the goalposts and claw back funding for services already provided by our hospitals – some three years, or three prime ministers ago.
The claw back will hit Victorian hospitals to the tune of $201 million for services provided over three years – and $67 million for every year going forward. It’s all about Scott Morrison and the Liberals downgrading services so they can weasel out of paying our hospitals what they deserve.
The states and territories furiously warned Mr Morrison to abandon his plans to once again cut health, moving a rare motion to make sure the matter was formally raised at last week’s COAG meeting in Adelaide.
But Mr Morrison and the Liberals are unmoved, with this week’s update confirming Canberra will pay Victorian hospitals $410 million less than what we’re owed under the current agreement.
Not only is Mr Morrison pushing ahead with plans to short-change Victorian hundreds of millions of dollars for their services, he’s still trying to ram through his dud national health funding agreement that would see our state’s hospitals face a combined $2.1 billion cut.
And he’s so desperate to distract Victorians from his savage health cuts that he’s introduced a last-ditch election year slush fund aimed at glossing over the Liberals’ axe to health.
Scott Morrison has form when it comes to cutting Victorian hospitals and he’s up to his old tricks again. When he was Treasurer, he interfered with an agreed activity-based funding model that ensured the Commonwealth paid its share.
It was sneaky then and it’s sneaky now – it’s more proof you can’t trust the Liberals when it comes to health, all they do is cut.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos
“The Liberals say they’ve learnt from electoral wipe-out but they’re at it again – Victorians want to know they’ll get high-quality care they can count on when they get sick and they don’t stand for cuts to our hospitals.”
“Scott Morrison is trying to rip more than two billion dollars from our hospitals and won’t pay the bill for services our doctors and nurses have provided – it’s not fair and it’s not on.”
“This week’s budget update says it all – the Liberals are taking an axe to health and hospitals – and every Victorian doctor, nurse and patient will suffer.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020