Australian national health system just an election pipe dream

Election threats by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of a Federal takeover of public hospitals if the states failed to improve hospital services by the middle of 2009, appears to have been put on hold, prompting the opposition to claim that Labor has reneged on a 2007 election promise to deal with embattled state hospitals systems.

A report by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) into the feasibility of a nationwide health system, answerable to Canberra, was handed to Mr Rudd yesterday but has not as yet been publicly released.

Mr Rudd has stressed the importance of being careful and methodical about the long-term future for the health and hospital system, but in his 2007 election campaign Mr Rudd promised a referendum seeking approval for a Commonwealth takeover but later amended that promise by appointing the NHHRC to report by the middle of this year.

The move to hand over hospital powers has already been rejected by some state premiers and Mr Rudd himself appears reluctant to make a decision saying the next step will be to work through the recommendations of the NHHRC report with the states and territories, and "arrive at the necessary conclusions and policy decisions".

However opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says Mr Rudd had promised he would fix hospitals by the middle of this year or call a referendum for a Federal takeover and he should keep that promise - it now seems that the issue will be dodged as there is no indication that the long-awaited report on the health system will lead to any dramatic redrafting of national powers.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the report has more than 100 recommendations and will help the Government decide whether to take financial control of Australia's 750 public hospitals.

It does appear however that, without an element of force, the states will refuse to cooperate - Victorian Premier John Brumby says a faceless bureaucracy in Canberra running the health system in Victoria, is the last thing they want and Colin Barbett the WA Premier says they will not entertain an attempt by the Commonwealth to nationalise their health system and hospitals.

Experts say a non-political nationally-run system will not happen and a takeover by Canberra of the entire health system would be expensive, complex and risky and would create too many problems for the Government.