The Northern Territory Government has announced a last-minute boost to this year’s health budget, with an additional $200 million dollars allocated just months out from the end of the financial year. As part of the funding, the government has vowed to fast-track two projects hoped to improve access to health care in the bush and in the city.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Masking a dwindling health budget with a last minute string of funding announcements.
00:08Three big announcements today, one for the bush, one for Palmerston and one for health overall.
00:14With just two months to go until the end of the financial year, the government touting an extra $200 million
00:20to top up the 2024 health budget. Those funds set to help fast track two new projects.
00:27$20 million for a brand new health clinic in Borrolula.
00:31$12 million also allocated to kickstart a 120 bed aged care facility in Palmerston.
00:38$10 million around head works, so doing the head works that will be necessary to set up the site for an aged care facility.
00:46Then there's money there also to do the design work.
00:49It's welcome news for hospitals struggling with a lack of beds.
00:53Recurrent code yellow is one of the significant factors to bed block in Royal Darwin Hospital
00:59has been the number of people who should be in an aged care facility who are actually occupying a hospital bed.
01:04The announcements come amid a three day conference being held in Darwin on preventative health.
01:10Representatives arguing more money needs to go toward addressing chronic disease and alcohol abuse.
01:16Long term disease, cancers, liver disease, heart disease are all linked to alcohol consumption.
01:23Others calling for tailored funding from the Commonwealth for health services in remote and indigenous contexts.
01:30It's actually a reality based on the real cost of health delivery rather than on some tick box thing organised by a Canberra bureaucracy.
01:38The fight for a larger slice of Commonwealth funding was top of mind for the Chief Minister today.
01:43Following a National Cabinet meeting this morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced $925 million
01:50over the next five years to help women escape violent relationships.
01:55Yet again the Northern Territory desperate to ensure that money is spent equitably.
02:01I spoke up very loudly and clearly around needs based funding for the Northern Territory.
02:06We have 1% of the population, we don't want 1% of that $928 million.
02:12A small population grappling with complex problems.