'Someone knew': Labor to face grilling over health blowout advice timing, says Castley

Opposition Leader Leanne Castley has accused Labor of going to the October election knowing the ACT health budget was in trouble.

On Thursday (6 February), Treasurer Chris Steel announced an almost $350 million blowout in the Budget deficit. This was fuelled by an unanticipated surge in demand for Canberra health services, which required a $227 million top-up to bridge the funding gap and maintain services.

Mr Steel said the surge was not anticipated in the Budget or the Pre-election Budget Update, and he and Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith were only advised in November when they were sworn in after the election.

Ms Castley told ABC Radio today (Friday) that she was shocked by the Budget Review, saying it was hard to believe that Labor and the health bureaucrats did not know about this before the election

She said the Canberra Liberals were very keen to understand when Chief Minister Andrew Barr knew about this.

“You can’t tell me they didn’t know 16 weeks ago, right before the election,” Ms Castley said.

Asked whether she thought Labor had hidden the problems in the health budget from voters before the election, Ms Castley replied: “That’s what I’m saying.”

“How can they not know 16 weeks ago and all of a sudden be crystal clear that they’ve overspent by, what is it, $200 million?”

Ms Castley said the government should have known that demand for health services was rising.

“How can the minister not know?” she said.

“We’ve known this for a while. We have an aging population, and the need for services is greater for that cohort of people.”

Ms Castley accused the government of blaming health consumers for the blowout.

“I’m shocked by that response because we all, day in and day out, hear about the growing elective surgery list, the need for hips and knee replacements, all of these things, they’re only growing, and to all of a sudden say, ‘gosh, we’ve got to spend a bunch more money now’. It is very short-sighted.”

Ms Castley was incredulous that health officials would not have been aware of such a surge in demand before the election in October and would only advise the incoming government in November that there was a problem.

“I’m shocked that they had no idea of this even before the election,” she said.

“You can’t tell me that they weren’t aware of this.”

Ms Castley said the Liberals would be interrogating the government next week in the Legislative Assembly, including the role played by health officials.

“That’s certainly the question I’ll be asking next week because someone knew, and someone hasn’t sent that message down to the people who need to understand what’s going on”,” she said.

“It stinks, and Canberrans should be furious.”

Ms Castley said the Budget Review was only handed down late yesterday afternoon and the Liberals were still absorbing the details, but the new crossbench arrangements meant the Liberals had more support to get to the bottom of the issue.

“The last term [the government] … had the numbers. They could win every motion,” she said

“They could deny every motion I made in health asking for greater transparency … Well, things have changed in this Assembly and every motion the Opposition have put to the government this term, since October, we have had agreement and we have won them.”

With the Greens already flagging opposition to any imposts on or service cuts for Canberra’s vulnerable in the next Budget, the government is likely to face a hostile Assembly.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said Labor could not punish those on the lowest income in the ACT just to try to balance the books.

“The Greens will be closely scrutinising the next budget to protect current services and ensure they do not cut essential services,” he said.

“Food relief services, public housing and primary healthcare – these are the sort of services that struggling Canberrans need to access.

“These services should not only be immune from Budget cuts but, in fact, should be the future areas of growth in funding.”