Ted Baillieu in feud on health reforms

A FEUD over national health reforms has erupted along party lines, with new Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu accusing Canberra of misleading the public.

A FEUD over national health reforms has erupted along party lines, with new Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu accusing Canberra of misleading the public.

Meanwhile, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has portrayed Mr Baillieu as a deal-wrecker.

In an ominous sign for Julia Gillard's reform agenda and federal-state relations, Mr Baillieu used his first press conference as Premier to say he wanted to "expose the content" of the hospitals agreement so Victorians knew exactly what they signed up for.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon promptly hit back, saying details of the hospital reform agreement had been publicly available for months and were on the internet.

She said she was not going to make any judgments on what the Victorian Liberals "choose to read" on the federal website.

The dispute soon drew in Ms Keneally, who expressed surprise that Mr Baillieu "seems willing to tear down" health reforms agreed to by his Labor predecessor John Brumby after protracted negotiations.

"I am very concerned the whole agreement could come undone," she said.

Western Australia's Coalition government earlier this year refused to join the other states in signing up to the agreement.

A spokesman for Mr Baillieu told The Australian last night that Ms Roxon's claims about the transparency of the health agreement were wrong.

"It is quite misleading for the federal government to claim all the information which Victorian families need to judge the deal for themselves is available," he said. "When clearly it is not."

The sharp exchanges came as Mr Brumby announced he would resign from the Labor leadership, clearing the way for a new state opposition leader.

After unexpectedly choosing not to address the issue when he conceded defeat on Monday, Mr Brumby released a statement saying he would not contest a Labor leadership ballot on Friday. " I have always strongly advocated political renewal," he said. "The time has come for a new Labor leader to serve the Victorian people and the party."

Outgoing health minister Daniel Andrews is expected to be elected the new leader, receiving broad support from all of Labor's factions.

Current deputy leader Rob Hulls is expected to continue in his role although he is still making up his mind, and young gun Jacinta Allan is also interested in the position.

Mr Baillieu and his deputy, Nationals leader Peter Ryan, addressed the media for the first time yesterday since Mr Brumby conceded defeat, saying they would have a "lean, open and frank" government. "What you will see is what you will get," Mr Baillieu said.

"There will be no hidden agenda, no spin, no secrecy.

"Accountability and transparency will be the principles that underpin our government."

The Prime Minister spoke to Mr Baillieu late yesterday and congratulated him on his win, saying she looked forward to working with him on health, education and the National Broadband Network.

Ms Gillard also paid tribute to Mr Brumby, her former boss, saying he had "made enormous contribution to Victoria both as a minister and as premier".

Mr Baillieu received briefings from key public servants yesterday and said his party would meet today to decide the cabinet line-up before they were sworn in over the coming days.

The Premier again expressed his concerns about Ms Gillard's hospitals deal. "They (the agreements) were signed off I think eight or nine months ago . . . my predecessor went to Canberra with an ambition at one level and came back with just 20 per cent of that ambition," he said.

"We want to know what's in the deal for Victoria. Even the final signatures on Melbourne Cup day have not led us to much greater detail."

Mr Baillieu said he did not know what the content of the deal was and wanted reassess whether Victoria was getting a good deal.