The fight between Kevin Rudd and state leaders over federal control of public hospitals is entering its final round (for now), with both sides meeting at the COAG talks today as Rudd makes one last attempt to win their support.
Yesterday, Wayne Swan announced a final sweetener, with states to expect an extra $14 billion from the GST ($5 billion to NSW, $3.8 billion to VIC, $1.7 billion to WA and $170 million to NT).
Victoria’s John Brumby, NSW’s Kristina Keneally and WA’s Colin Barnett don’t look like budging. Phillip Coorey reports in today’s SMH:
One federal minister described the chance of an agreement today as ”f—ing hard” while another senior official said ”we are not positive”.
But in a last-minute twist, a new Nielsen poll has revealed that 62% of voters (63% in NSW, 58% in Victoria and 51% in WA) support Rudd’s reforms.
Will the poll prove a last-minute game changer? The nations’ pundits weigh-in on what they think they think the premiers should do… and what they reckon will actually happen:
The Australian
Editorial: Reforms worth persuing
Whatever the outcome of today’s COAG meeting to determine the future of hospital reform, improvements need to be achieved
David Burchell: PM’S phony piety and postures make for poor policy
In short, they are the perfect paradigm of political piety, devised with no purpose other than to displease as few of the major interests as possible, and involving an endless series of petty squabbles carefully pre-designed to have only one possible victor.
Adam Cresswell: Premiers must put policy before politics
Both ideas are driven by politics rather than sound policy and would entrench cost- and blame-shifting.
The Age
Tony Wright: It’s the people and PM v the premiers
[Rudd] has the people in his corner as he fights to prove he can actually deliver reform
Sydney Morning Herald
Peter Hartcher: Voters want it, but Grim Reaper happy to kill health reform
The Rudd reform is not perfect, but it is the only improvement on offer.
Paul Daley: It’s a Labor of (lost) love for Rudd
The highly experienced and respected Brumby has effectively told Rudd to stick it up his junta.
Phillip Coorey: The overlooked truth: states cannot afford soaring health costs
… he states will eventually be unable to fund health because the cost will consume their entire budgets.
The Daily Telegraph
Malcolm Farr: Canberra probably does know best
The main policy area on the agenda will be health. The real debate will be on that ageless question – who know best how to spend taxpayer money?
“The highly experienced and respected Brumby”
WTF ??? – Respected by who ?
I expect the majority in the Nielsen pols don’t know what Rudd reforms mean.
I don’t.
The bureaucrats in NSW and VIC treasuries and Dep’t of Health have been working all week to understand them and their implication.
It’s like asking if you support apple pie and then asserting that the natural ensuing affirmative means the Federal Government have a green light for the federal takeover of all apple orchards.
Our political journalists are a joke.
DSF: Bingo! The man’s a bastard.
@VENISE – Hi Venise? In NSW we’re probably not familiar with Brumby like you are, but he couldn’t be worse than the Labor PM’s we’ve had in NSW. Due to their ‘borrowing’ from the energy sector, the people are facing hikes in charges for electricity(64%?) and gas this year. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but it’s pretty horrific. As a pensioner, I wouldn’t mind an increase to further renewable energy needs, but not gross incompetence etc?
People close to me with serious health issues were treated A1 – no complaints, but patients shouldn’t have to wait weeks for a colonoscopy to see if they have bowel cancer for example? Non-urgent cases have to wait up to 14 wks? The problem is waiting lists and A&E waiting times. Every now and then, we have ambulances(5 or 6 at a time?) lined up waiting to drop off their patients – front page in local paper, which is pretty horrific! The population has increased markedly, but doctors, beds, nurses etc haven’t! In NSW recently, the govt cut back on the number of registered nurses? Why would they do a dumb thing like that, when so much care depends on being highly skilled and experienced? Really stupid? I think NSW has run out of money? And competence, and ????
Of course the voters want health taken away from ALP states – they’ve totally stuffed it up. What will we be getting? Well, that’s anyone’s guess – but I’d imagine it’ll be another BER, Batts, NBN, Greens Loan Scheme etc etc.
We don’t know what he’s offering. I’d vote NO.