The question of who will take over the Federal Health Ministry was answered this morning, with the announcement by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that he had appointed Greg Hunt as the Minister for Health and Sport, taking over from Sussan Ley’s portfolio.
Hunt has been Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science for the past six months, and prior to that was Minister for the Environment for three years. He released a statement soon after this morning’s announcement, recognising the importance of healthcare and its workforce, medical science, Medicare, mental health and sport, expanding on this and adding a strong commitment to Indigenous Health (more on that below) in a speech at Frankston Hospital later in the day.
Hunt told those gathered at Frankston that he was honoured to be appointed as Minister for Health, and that his passion for health care was derived to some extent from admiration for his mother and his wife, both of whom were nurses.
He said he had already spoken to representatives of “magnificent” health policy organisations such as the AMA, Private Health Insurers, and the Pharmacy Guild, so he is taking calls. Hopefully he will have a chance to read Croakey’s recent compilation to-do list and to consult more widely as he begins the difficult task of fully comprehending his portfolio.
Health organisations including the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association, the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes, Pathology Australia, the Australian Medical Association, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Palliative Care Association the Consumers Health Forum of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have issued welcoming statements to the new minister, outlining some of the outstanding issues in their sectors for the his attention.
Some of the many loose ends in the health portfolio are detailed in Croakey’s earlier post, and also in this article by Professor of health policy, Jim Gillespie, at the Conversation.
There was a mood of cautious optimism about the new appointment on Twitter.
Turnbull also announced a new health-related Ministry, Appointing the Hon Ken Wyatt MP as Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Indigenous Health. Wyatt has previously been Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, with responsibility for Indigenous health.
Wyatt’s heritage includes Yamatji, Wangai and Nyoongar and Wongi ancestry, and he now becomes the first Indigenous person to occupy a Commonwealth Ministry, having been the first Indigenous member of the House of Representatives in 2010, and the first front bencher with his appointment as Assistant Minister, Health and Aged Care in 2015.
He has a strong track record in health and education and is widely respected in the Indigenous health sector.
There is a lot of love for this appointment, with individuals and organisations expressing their support on twitter, and even a new hashtag, initiated by Indigenous advocate and writer, Karen Wyld, #KenCanYou
Two further points arising from the Ministerial reshuffle:
1. Minister Wyatt’s office has provided the following information to clarify how his new role differs from his previous role.
“Assistant Minister has been elevated to the outer ministry and to the front bench.
His new responsibilities mean that aged care is now a standalone portfolio and the same with indigenous health.
Whilst he previously held these responsibilities as an assistant minister he now has the authority for both these key areas.”
2. Minister Hunt needs to answer whether his views on healthcare have changed since his 2002 maiden speech.
Read it in full here:
http://www.greghunt.com.au/AboutGreg/MaidenSpeech.aspx
In the speech, he appears to support US-style healthcare, with employers taking on responsibility for private health insurance for employees as per the extract below:
Extract Greg Hunt’s maiden speech, 2002
http://www.greghunt.com.au/AboutGreg/MaidenSpeech.aspx
“I believe that there are also five key social imperatives facing Australia over the next 20 years. The first is building on the achievements of the last six years, which have seen private health care coverage make the extraordinary leap from 30 per cent of Australians in 1998 to 45 per cent of Australians in 2001.
The next expansion in private health coverage is, I believe, through employer incentives for the inclusion of health care in workplace arrangements—perhaps through creative ways of excluding employer health care from the fringe benefits tax regime. The result of this, the freeing of resources which private health care generates—it is not about some special system of privilege, it is about freeing resources for the rest of society—will allow even greater funding to be directed to our elderly, who, as the then new member for Bennelong said in his first speech in 1974—when, incidentally, I was eight years old—`face the twin threats of loneliness and alienation’. The same threats and challenges are with us today.
Our second social task is broadening the very nature of what education means in Australia. That means providing incentives for lifetime training, and it means providing concrete alternatives for those who seek education outside of the traditional academic path.
Our third task—and I am very passionate about this—is protecting and preserving our environment. There are many environmental initiatives, of which the government’s national salinity strategy may be the most important. Personally, I want to make it a crusade to help establish a national ocean outfall policy aimed at ending the routine, destructive and wasteful discharge of effluent into our seas by 2025. It is a great task, but if we partner with the private sector and create incentives for re-use then I believe it is achievable. That really would be something for us to achieve as a nation.
Fourth, we need to continue bridging the divides. At home, as the Prime Minister said in his acceptance speech after the 1998 election, there remains much to be done in the reconciliation of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. These two stories have run parallel for far too long. Abroad, we also have a role, realistically focused, in bridging the divide between those who have and those who have not, and also between those who remain implacable foes of one another. We cannot and must not be passive when there is evil afoot. Bridging divides leads ultimately to building a national sense of unity—for a unified nation, based on inclusive decision making, can achieve immeasurably more than a divided one.
Fifth, we must continue to renew our institutions of governance. I am one of those who believe that four-year terms for the House, linked to a two-term cycle for the Senate, is a step forward.”
In response to a query from Croakey today about Minister Hunt’s 2002 statement supporting an expanded role for private health insurance and moving to a US-style health system, his office provided the following comment:
“Having lived in the USA, the Minister has always been of the view that the Australian healthcare system is better, stronger and more appropriate for Australia.
Providing universal healthcare for all Australians is at the heart of Medicare.
Only yesterday, the Minister made it clear that the Turnbull Government has a rock solid commitment to Medicare. As such funding is increasing every year.
Minister Hunt will be Australia’s strongest advocate for Medicare.
Private health insurance has always had an important place in our broader healthcare system. But as the Minister said only yesterday, Medicare is, and will always be, the fundamental basis of our universal healthcare system.
In addition, since 2002 other far better measures have been adopted to improve choice in private healthcare.”