ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much for joining us. And I do want to acknowledge that the debate is ongoing in the House of Representatives on the condolence motion for Peta Murphy. And so it is a very difficult day for the Labor family in particular, but I think, across this Parliament. Peta Murphy is someone who was very broadly respected as a woman of courage, intellect, integrity and character. And so, there is a sadness across this Parliament. And I know that goes beyond just parliamentarians across the spectrum, it also goes across many staff and people who knew Peta. So, I want to acknowledge that.
We have had a very successful meeting of the National Cabinet. This year, we have advanced reforms in housing, in health and in the skills, with the first Skills Agreement for 10 years moving forward. And today, we have prioritised what we said at the beginning of the year would be our major priority of health reform. Today, we are taking immediate action to take pressure off hospitals through further Strengthening Medicare but we are also locking in long-term structural health reform. Today, we are securing the future of the NDIS for this and future generations, in addition to the agreement we have reached on the National Firearms Registry, which really takes the reforms begun under the Howard Government and complete those reforms by allowing police to be able to have access to the information that they need. And it comes, of course, just before the first anniversary of the tragedy that we saw in Queensland last year.
Health was our number one priority. And I want to run through the reforms that have been agreed to today and they are substantial. So, I apologise in advance. Strengthening Medicare. First Ministers have agreed to a further $1.2 billion package of Strengthening Medicare measures to take pressure off our hospital system. These measures, which came from the CAF process from states and territories to request to the Commonwealth have been agreed to. They will grow in support, our health workforce while reducing unnecessary presentation to emergency departments. The Commonwealth will fund and implement with states and territories health-related recommendations from the Kruk review. They are very much focused on workforce issues and the workforce we need to deliver the healthcare that Australians deserve. Secondly, we will have a further boosting of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics. And thirdly, support for older Australians through avoided hospital admission and earlier discharge from hospital. Importantly, Australians want an approach to healthcare that recognises that primary care and hospital care are linked and that we need to strengthen primary care in order to take pressure off hospitals. But they need both. National Cabinet has endorsed the Commonwealth increasing the National Health Reform agreement contributions to 45 per cent over maximum of a 10-year path from the 1 July 2025 with an achievement of at least 42.5 per cent before 2030. Today, we have agreed effectively on the parameters of the next two five-year health agreements. This provides certainty for state and territory governments to be able to deliver the healthcare that they want. National Cabinet endorsed the current 6.5 per cent funding cap being replaced by a more generous approach that applies a cumulative cap over that period 2025-2030 and this includes a first year catch-up growth premium as well. Because we know there is a need for a continued focus on addressing elective surgery. Health Ministers will commence the renegotiation of the National Health Reform agreement addendum to embed long-term system-wide structural health reforms including that of the NRHRA mid-term review findings. These reforms will make a very significant difference to the healthcare that Australians need and deserve.
National Cabinet also acknowledged the need for reforms to secure the future of the NDIS, ensuring it can continue to provide life-changing support to future generations of Australians with a disability. Governments all noted the forthcoming release of the final report of the Independent NDIS Review that was co-led by Professor Bruce Bonyhady and Lisa Paul. As an additional response to the NDIS Review, National Cabinet agreed to work together to implement legislative and other changes to the NDIS to improve the experience of participants and restore the original intent of the Scheme to support people with permanent and significant disability, with a broader ecosystem of support. To adjust state and territory NDIS contribution escalation rates, increasing from four per cent to be in line with actual Scheme growth, capped eight per cent with the Commonwealth paying the remainder of the Scheme costs growth commencing from the 1 July 2028. The National Cabinet agreed to jointly-designed additional foundation supports to be jointly commissioned by the Commonwealth and states with the work oversighted by the first secretaries group. In addition, the Council of Federal Financial Relations, that is the Treasurers, will oversight cost of the reforms and report to National Cabinet. An initial tranche of legislation will be introduced into the Commonwealth Parliament in the first half of 2024 with more changes facing as developed. That delivery of foundational support would look to be delivered through existing government service settings where appropriate such as child care and schools, facing overtime and funding will be agreed to new federal funding arrangements with additional costs split 50-50 with final details to be settled through the Treasurers meeting. The Commonwealth agreed to cap an additional expenditure for states and territories on new foundational disability services to ensure that the combination of the health costs and disability costs will see all states and territories better off. These commitments demonstrate the Government's ongoing commitment to the NDIS. Discussions with the disability community will continue over the coming months as we work together to make the positive changes needed for people with a disability.
On the GST No Worse Off Guarantee, National Cabinet has agreed to extend the GST No Worse Off Guarantee in its current form for three years from 2027-20028. This ensures that GST proceeds are shared fairly and equitably and it provides, importantly, funding certainty for the states when they are doing their budgets. National Cabinet’s priority is safeguarding service delivery. And this will do that.
I referred to the National Firearms Register in my beginning. This will be a federated model, state data connecting with a central hub data allowing near real-time information sharing across the country. And the Commonwealth will assist states and territories with funding the reforms which will provide enduring benefits for many years to come. National Cabinet agreed to work together to ensure the registry is fully operational within four years. National Cabinet was also briefed by the AFP Commissioner, Reece Kershaw, and the acting Australian Border Force Commissioner, Kaylene Zakharoff, on Operation AEGIS and the close collaboration that is occurring between the Commonwealth and state and territory law enforcement.
This was a very successful meeting following a successful discussion that we had last night. And I think that the combination of the immediate measures on health, the long-term 10-year agreement on health lifting up the Commonwealth contribution of hospitals at the same time as we are boosting and strengthening Medicare, along with the measures to secure the future of NDIS mean that we end 2020 showing that federal-state relations can truly be harmonised and harnessed in a way that benefits our entire constituency, no matter which state or territory you live in. And I do want to thank the spirit of the Premiers and Chief Ministers. I want to welcome the new Premier, I think this is your first meeting here. And it has been a very successful one.
JOURNALIST: Just clarifying on the NDIS changes, are you saying they will be hived off and funded under a separate arrangement, a 50-50 arrangement with the states using schools and child care centres and will that just apply to new cases or will it be existing cases under the NDIS? Will they be grandfathered into it?
PRIME MINISTER: What we are saying is that if you, at the moment, NDIS funding is agreed by everyone including the Review to be unsustainable. What we want to do though is to make sure that the principles in which the NDIS is established, that those people who need that support continue to get it. But for others, it might be that they don't need the full NDIS Scheme into the future. So, we are still talking about growth here of an eight per cent growth rate. But for foundational support, we recognise that for support to give be given in a school or child care setting, there may well be additional cost for the states and that will be shared, 50-50 between the Commonwealth and the states. We have agreed on a cap on that for the states, because we think that when you look at the review that you will get to see pretty soon, I think Bill Shorten is speaking at the National Press Club tomorrow, you will see that in a range of areas, that it is very possible and it is indeed necessary for costs to be reduced. Not in terms of the support that people need but in terms of bureaucracy and some of the businesses that are being established and some of the structures which are there.
JOURNALIST: Will those already getting support from the NDIS for foundational support be moved to the new system
PRIME MINISTER: No, that foundational support is already there. What we are saying is there might be in the future additional foundation support and we want to work with the states and territories to make sure that we share that path going forward. Andrew? Welcome back.
JOURNALIST: Thank you, Prime Minister. Nice to be back. On the extending the GST deal for another three years, it is obviously the cost has blown out considerably over the past five years, what is the estimated cost of that extension and perhaps, we could ask the Premier to justify its continuation?
PRIME MINISTER: This was an agreement that was reached by the former Government to not extend, and is one that my Government has said that we remain committed to providing the support that was agreed with WA. Going forward that the costs are around about $3.5 billion per year, for extension, around about. And we think that for states and territories to be able to have their certainty to provide service provisions, including across their forward estimates, this is a request from the states and territories, it was discussed by the Treasurers last Friday and it's one that we’ve agreed to today.
JOURNALIST: A question on infrastructure and whether that came up in today's meeting because it's been a source of strains with the states and in particular a question for the Queensland Premier on this as well. Does the GST outcome here alleviate your concerns about any cuts to infrastructure projects in Queensland and any cutting funding?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’ll make two points there. One is there's been no cut in federal infrastructure funding, we said the $120 billion stays. And with regard to specific projects going forward, there will continue to be dialogue, as there is, on a bilateral basis because you have to have an infrastructure agreement on a path forward between the Commonwealth and each of the state and territories. So, it did come up and we have agreed to continue to have those discussions about projects. What we couldn't continue to do is to have projects which had $50 million or $100 million allocated for them in some cases of the 800 projects that have added up, some of which were announced prior to the 2016 election where a hole hadn't been dug yet, where there was no agreement by states and territories that they be proceeding and where there was no proper funding model. And so, we have done, as part of our economically responsible position, put positions forward. But we continue to negotiate and co-operate, just as we've had the outstanding agreement that we've had with Queensland on the Olympics, for example, that we came to. So, we will continue to discuss between infrastructure ministers but also between myself and all of the Premiers and Chief Ministers.
ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND: The extra money for the GST over three years, we absolutely welcome that. In relation to the infrastructure, the Deputy Premier and the Federal Commonwealth Infrastructure Minister continue to have those conversations as they will continue for the months and years ahead.
JOURNALIST: Were you able to outline a dollar figure to the Premiers and Chief Ministers today on how much that 50-50 - that additional foundational support will cost the states and territories? And just one for Premier Allan as well. Are you confident that the agreements, the funding agreements that were discussed today, will be enough to alleviate some of your budgetary pressures at the moment and in particular, regarding the NDIS?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, we were. And we are working all them through and they will be in our budgets. But we agreed today, 50-50 funding foundation support going through but that is capped as well to make sure that every state and territory will be better off.
JACINTA ALLAN, PREMIER OF VICTORIA: Today's been important from Victoria’s perspective for a couple of key reasons and the Prime Minister went to this in his opening remarks. By having that ongoing certainty for the next three years or extension on the GST arrangements for another three years, gives us that budget certainty from which we can continue to partner, whether it's with the Commonwealth on NDIS or health and hospital delivery, or on the suite of other services that we are responsible for delivering. That's why the GST discussion was important to us from Victoria’s point of view, not having that extension of the GST arrangement would have not just been a hit to our Budget, it would’ve also been a real issue in terms of the number of teachers and nurses we can employ and engage in the schools and hospitals. And this is my first National Cabinet and my first conversation with First Ministers but a number of these issues, these have been the best part of the decade in the making in terms of the challenges that have been mounting up, GST, the challenges with NDIS, the issues with health and hospital reforms. And today, we not only got an agreement on the revenue base going forward but we have a reform agenda to fundamentally address some of the key issues that families rely on, both whether you are a person with a disability or someone wanting to get the right healthcare in the right place at the right time.
JOURNALIST: On the NDIS foundational support, can you, or perhaps one of the Premiers, give a concrete idea on what it is talking about the support, are they going to be same in every state? And also, quickly on the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, does the extra money mean more clinics or more money to the existing clinics?
PRIME MINISTER: It means more clinics. We will have the 58 that we promised, Urgent Care Clinics, open by the end of this year as we promised to do so. And they are making an enormous difference. Every person who goes into an Urgent Care Clinic is one less person in the emergency department of a hospital. Not only is that good for the hospitals and their workforce, it actually makes economic sense because this more efficient. But importantly, as well, it's good for the patients. So, when little Johnny or Mary falls off the bike, instead of waiting for hours at an ED, because quite rightly, for life-threatening cases jump ahead, they get the care they need, when they need it and all they need is a Medicare card. This has been far more successful than we envisaged. That's the truth. It has made an enormous difference already and we are very proud and that's why we want to look at extending it into some areas that haven't currently got access to it.
Put simply a range of people have disabilities. The NDIS was designed to support people with permanent and significant disability. They need that care. They need that care desperately. But there are a range of other people who still, currently not everyone with a disability or an issue that requires support is in the NDIS now. But we need to make sure that the legislation that we introduced, we will have discussions with state and territories is about, is so that the system remains sustainable. And that is what foundational support is about. The sort of support that has occurred for a long period of time before the NDIS came around. The NDIS at the moment, with its projections of where it was headed was simply not sustainable, that is something that's recognised by the sector. That does not mean people who deserve and need to be on the NDIS, it doesn't mean any cuts, we are talking about an eight per cent growth target as well. That is substantial for any area of social policy delivery. Sarah?
JOURNALIST: I wanted to ask, was eligibility in the NDIS discussed, were you talking about people who are in the NDIS now being moved onto those financial supports? Premier Allan, just yesterday, your Disability Minister said her understanding was that people would come off. Is that your understanding after this meeting? I am a West Australian, I have to ask Roger one thing. One question for Roger, if I can. I wanted to ask you, you did so that you cannot sign up to something where you don't know what the cost to the state is going to be regarding NDIS. So, to be clear, what is the cost to WA going to be?
ROGER COOK, PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: We've sought and received assurances from the Prime Minister that our contribution will be capped and it will be on the basis of the establishment of the foundational services. We think it's a sensible way to go and we are looking forward to working with the Commonwealth in relation to the design of the foundational services but also for the Treasurers to work on the funding model and approach for it.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm trying to give everyone a go and people have got to get on planes.
JOURNALIST: One for Jacinta Allan and one for yourself. Premier Allan, the Ombudsman has described in Victoria a culture of fear in the public service. What's your reaction to the report that has come out today? And Prime Minister, are you concerned that given the political pressure that's been identified in the report by the Ombudsman will produce outcomes like Robodebt because bureaucrats are too scared to provide frank and fearless advice?
PREMIER OF VICTORIA: Let's be clear on the Ombudsman’s report released today. We will obviously take our time to reflect on the report and consider the recommendations. But I want to make two points. The first is that the Ombudsman herself in her report pointed this being most intensive investigation in the 50 years of the office of the Ombudsman. It also went on to find there was not one example, not one example of partisan political hiring in the Victorian Public Sector, so those are the inferences that are being drawn by others, the speculation, the, frankly, shade thrown on a very, very good and strong public sector that we have in Victoria is not just deeply unfair, it is not founded in any evidence that is presented in the Ombudsman’s report released today.
JOURNALIST: A further question for Premier Allan on the Ombudsman’s report today. It also shows the Premier's office last year had 80 staff members, which is almost the same combined as the Prime Minister's office and the NSW Premier's office. How many staff do you have in your office and will you commit to revising that number down to similar levels of your other counterparts?
PREMIER OF VICTORIA: In response to some previous reports that have been tabled in the Victorian Parliament, we have made some in-principle commitments in terms of releasing additional detail on that. And as you can appreciate, we are going through a period of transition with my office. We are in the process of engaging new staff, staff coming and going as we have had a change of Premier in Victoria, so the final number is not settled. And I would note for completeness different jurisdictions, what is in and out is counted in different ways. But we will be reporting in due course on the numbers.
JOURNALIST: You just said that this agreement does not mean that people who deserve to be on the NDIS will be removed. Does this mean there are people who do not deserve to be on the Scheme and was eligibility discussed?
PRIME MINISTER: The NDIS Review will be released tomorrow. This is about capping growth at eight per cent. Growth at eight per cent.
JOURNALIST: You ran an election campaign about the pressure on schools and teachers. With this foundational support, the PM flagged it could be delivered through schools and child care settings, are you concerned that this adds another burden onto already overworked teachers?
CHRIS MINNS, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Well, look, we are concerned about the growth of the NDIS and there is a recognition from First Ministers today that we all have to do something about it. Now the hard work begins. But if you look at the NDIS, the GST, if you look at changes to health reform, I think we have achieved more in the last two days than many thought would be possible. And it gives the states certainty in relation to the GST and the health system so that we can tackle challenges in the NDIS. And that is a breakthrough that First Ministers and previous Prime Ministers have been aiming for over a decade.
PRIME MINISTER: Health reform. Disability reform. National Firearms Registry. This has been a very significant meeting. Thanks very much.