COAG: Health funding package ‘breakthrough’ as SA, ACT sign up

SA and the ACT have signed up to the federal government’s health funding package, joining WA and NSW.

Greg Hunt after the COAG health ministers’ meeting in Sydney today. Picture: AAP

South Australia and the ACT have signed up to the federal government’s health funding package joining Western Australia and NSW, which backed the new agreement in February.

Health Minister Greg Hunt told The Australian the outcome of today’s Council of Australian Governments meeting of health ministers in Sydney represented a “real breakthrough”.

“The bottom line is that South Australia and the ACT — so importantly a Liberal and Labor state — have agreed to sign the commonwealth health reform agreement,” Mr Hunt said. “They’ll come on board and there’s very good progress with the other states”.

Under the deal, ACT public hospitals will receive about $2.6 billion from 2020-25 to help patients in what the government says is an increase of more than $722 million on the five years to 2020.

South Australian public hospitals will also receive an estimated $8.1 billion over the period 2020-25 — an increase of $1.5 billion on the previous agreement.

The government is seeking the support of all states and territories for a deal to provide an additional $30 billion for all Australian public hospitals, taking the total funding over the life of the next agreement to $128 billion.

Malcolm Turnbull wants to have the agreement finalised this year, with the existing agreement running out in 2019-20.

Today’s outcome means that the holdout jurisdictions still to sign up include the Northern Territory, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.

“This is a year earlier than expected ... That means we have two Labor and two Liberal states and territories,” Mr Hunt told The Australian.