Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says his objective is to ‘defeat’ changes to capital gains and negative gearing. Follow today’s news live
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The Australian Medical Association has praised the budget for locking in “much-needed” additional funding for public hospitals but said there was “little else” in the budget to address the critical issues facing Australia’s health system. The AMA president Dr Danielle McMullen said the additional $25bn for the next national health reform agreement was very welcome but it left a funding gap, and other opportunities to tackle healthcare system problems had been missed.
She said: Our modelling shows a remaining gap of at least $9.6bn — a gap that must be bridged if the cycle of crisis our public hospitals are in is to be broken. We are also pleased to see $120.9m set aside to support the role of general practice in the early identification of children with development delay or neurodevelopmental difference through a Medicare funded three-year-old health assessment and expanded Comprehensive Health Assessment Program. It will be critical for all governments to ensure that appropriate support for eligible children is available on GP referral.
While we welcome a commitment to undertake consultation on private health reform, cuts to the private healthinsurance rebate for people who are 65 years and over are likely to see older Australians on modest incomes drop or downgrade their cover and this may put more pressure on the public hospital system.
This was a genuinely difficult budget to calibrate, and it contains many moving parts.
While higher commodity prices have boosted national income, the cost of living is biting, inflation remains too high and the global outlook remains highly uncertain. A government willing to spend political capital on productivity, housing, tax reform and intergenerational fairness deserves credit.
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