Labor Budget breaks key promise on mental health
The Gillard Government’s new mental health package will mean the Prime Minister will fail to deliver on mental health as a second term priority.
Philip Ruddock, Member for Berowra, said that the Gillard Government has delayed funding for mental health, with majority of funding only to be available in five years time, close to the end of the next term of government.
In addition, hidden in the detail of the Budget is $580 million in cuts to mental health programs coordinated by GPs.
This is hardly the triumph for mental health that Ms Gillard and the Treasurer Mr Swan have claimed.
“The mental health sector will go backwards from day one with these new arrangements.
“The Coalition will be pursuing this through the Senate Estimates process to find out where the money is coming from and where it has been spent.
“The Government was forced to belatedly follow the Coalition’s strong position on mental health, but has failed to provide adequate new funding over the normal four year Budget projection,” Mr Ruddock said.
“In 2011-12, the Gillard Government is only providing $47.3 million in new funding for mental health, but cutting $62.8 million from existing programs.
“The Budget figures show mental health is not genuinely a priority for this Government’s second term and they have only provided a tricky political fix.
“After taking the cuts into account, Labor is only providing $583 million in new funding over the forward estimates, about a third of what the Coalition had proposed over the same period.
“The Coalition committed $1.5 billion at the 2010 election and recently announced another $430 million as part of a package of real reform in mental health,” Philip Ruddock said.