Our State of Health – The Rudd plan

While Kevin Rudd has previously talked of the Commonwealth assuming broader responsibility for health, it would be fair to say that the issue had slipped below the horizon for quite a while. No doubt the deaths and injuries associated with the Insulation program spurred his memory and his admission that the Government could have done better across a range of issues made a further major initiative timely.

The implications for the states are substantial and while some of the apparent reluctance from states may include an element of “turf” protection, it is evident that there just wasn’t a level of detail in the proposal that would allow the states to be able to understand the full implications.

Public sentiment in favour of the proposal is high but that is based on a broad perception that the states have, or are failing to provide the level of care demanded by the community. The reality is that the public are also unaware of how the proposed Commonwealth intervention will work. Premier Keneally has given support to the principle but has rightly identified some major issues that would need to be addressed or understood before NSW can agree to the proposal. She is right to be cautious and the failure to understand the proposal falls squarely on Mr Rudd and the Commonwealth for having announced their intention without sufficient detail or discussion with the states.

On the other hand, the implications of the growing health budgets are huge and the need for a new model to deal with increasing demand is clear. If done properly I have no doubt that Australians will benefit but this will be a further reduction in state autonomy. With so many other nationalised polices and programs, the argument that states are becoming increasingly irrelevant will grow.