Senator FIERRAVANTI-WELLS (New South Wales) (16:18): This latest funding debacle had its origins in the various versions of the so-called health reform proposal. The funding authority was included in the April 2010 version of the National Health and Hospital Networks Agreement but, with the ink barely dry, it was scrapped by Minister Roxon, who stated that we did not need to increase the size of the bureaucracy; it was appropriate for us to establish an authority without the need to do so. This was supposed to be the centrepiece of transparency for the so-called health reforms—and it was dumped with the ink barely dry. Then it was reinstated in the 2011 version and it actually became nine pool accounts in the August 2011 version, which eventually was enacted as the National Health Funding Body in 2012 to supposedly introduce unparalleled transparency into public hospital funding. In going out of her way to say that she is going to fund the hospitals directly, the Prime Minister is now acting contrary to her own legislation in funding the Victorian hospitals directly. All of this chaos is in addition to all the other cuts that we have seen by Labor over the years: the $1.6 billion ripped out of public hospitals, the $4 billion ripped out of private health insurance, the $1 billion ripped out of dental health through the closure of the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme, the seven GP super clinics that were promised but were never even opened, and the list goes on. I would like to remind those opposite of this document—which of course they want to forget: New directions for Australian health: taking responsibility: Labor's plan for ending the blame game on health and hospital care, by Kevin Rudd. And there is a picture of Kevin Rudd smiling. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Fierravanti-Wells, refer to Mr Rudd as Mr Kevin Rudd. Senator FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: There he is smiling—Mr Kevin Rudd. This document is co-authored by Mr Rudd and Ms Roxon. Of course, we know what Ms Roxon really thinks about Mr Rudd, and she was very vocal in telling us so. Goodness only knows what they told each other in those hundred photo shoots that they did together. Let us look at what has happened with this debacle about the funding cuts midstream. We know that Labor has established dozens of new bureaucracies since coming to office, at a cost of $1 billion. So when we look at this latest issue with the states, the health minister will not explain the Commonwealth cuts. All she is doing is making accusations about the states and targeting Victoria and Queensland. Labor's excuse about the variation in population growth has been debunked by the hapless Treasurer himself. In the health funding determination, the Treasurer used a population growth figure for Australia of just 0.03 per cent. However, for an earlier determination for local government funding, he used a growth figure of 1.4 per cent, which is consistent with publically available ABS data. The minister needs to stop playing the blame game, quickly review the Treasurer's determination and negotiate a resolution with the states. The matter needs to be resolved quickly, before even more damage is done. As a consequence of the funding cuts which have been made part way through the financial year, people were sent letters telling them that their elective surgery was going to be cancelled; nurses and doctors were put off; beds were closed. And, despite the reversal, enormous damage has been done. This latest fiasco in health just demonstrates that this is a Prime Minister who cannot keep her promises. In this space of health they have absolutely no credibility. (Time expired)