SA Best leader Nick Xenophon under fire over $2.6 billion maths error on health budget

PREMIER hopeful Nick Xenophon has hit back at his political rivals after he was criticised for putting the state health budget at $3.6b instead of the total budget of $5.9b.

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PREMIER hopeful Nick Xenophon is under fire from rivals after putting the state health budget at $3.6 billion instead of the correct $5.9 billion.

The $2.3 billion hole was immediately seized upon by both Labor and Liberals to accuse SA Best of being full of style without substance.

“At $3.6 billion, health is one of the biggest and fastest growing expenditure lines in the state budget,” the SA Best health policy, released on Friday, states.

It is the only dollar figure in the document.

Mr Xenophon said he relied on a line in the budget papers for the figure but Health Minister Peter Malinauskas and Liberal health spokesman Stephen Wade both referred to Budget Paper 3, table, 2.6, which shows the budget for Health and Ageing at $5.948 billion this financial year.

On Saturday, Mr Xenophon moved to defend himself, releasing a statement labelling the criticism from Labor and the Liberals as “nothing more than a shallow political diversion”.

“They both know that $3.6 billion is the actual cost to the State Budget for running our health system, with an additional $2.3 billion coming from the Commonwealth and other sources of revenue,” the statement says.

“The total expenses for health and ageing - including from Commonwealth revenue, grants, fees and other sources - is $5.9 billion. SA BEST’s policy document has been amended to clarify this point.

“The $3.6 billion is the net cost of the provision of services to the State Government to run the SA health system.”

Following the release of the SA Best policy on Friday, Mr Malinauskas dismissed it as platitudes, while Mr Wade said the maths mistake “shows Mr Xenophon is not worthy to be premier of this state.”

Mr Xenophon said he was taking a cautious approach to the various spending figures in the budget and accused his opponents of running a “unity ticket” against SA Best.

“All this does is strengthen my case for the urgent need for a royal commission into the health system,” he said.

“A royal commission is the cornerstone of our health policy.

To spend a bit on a royal commission now could save hundreds of millions of dollars down the track.”

The SA Best policy would upgrade emergency services at Modbury and Noarlunga hospitals, revive part of the Repat site as a community health centre, guarantee no more bed closures, have an eye clinic and recruit more paramedics and ambulances.

There would be whistleblower protection legislation and greater transparency of health system data including outpatient waiting times.

But in what represents the party’s most significant policy announcement to date, there are no costings attached – the only dollar figure in the policy is the one under fire.

Mr Malinauskas dismissed the policy and said Labor would not agree to a royal commission as the price of SA Best support.

“Mr Xenophon’s modus operandi is to create headlines — it is all platitudes,” he said.

Mr Wade said: “There is no plan for recovery, just a 40 per cent understatement in spending. Xenophon’s ‘health policy’ is a patchwork of policy platitudes offering no prescription for recovery — last week he was frank enough to say that he doesn’t pretend to have answers.

“Now he’s just pretending.”