Canberra, Feb 5 Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a billion-dollar funding deal to cut waiting times at the country's public hospitals.
Albanese and Minister for Health Mark Butler on Wednesday said that the federal government has reached a deal with all eight states and territories to increase funding for the public healthcare system in 2025-26.
Under the deal, the federal government will boost its contribution to funding for public hospitals and health services by 1.7 billion Australian dollars (1.06 billion US dollars) to 33.91 billion AUD (21.19 billion USD), an increase of 12 per cent.
"This decision today will help save lives and lead to better outcomes for our nation's hospitals," Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
He said in a joint statement with Butler that the funding would help cut waiting lists, reduce wait times in emergency departments and address delays in transferring patients from ambulances to hospital beds.
Of the new additional funding, more than 1.2 billion AUD (749.9 million USD) will go towards hospitals in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, which account for over 75 per cent of the national population, Xinhua news agency reported.
Public healthcare funding deals between the federal and state and territory governments are usually five-year deals, with the current deal set to expire at the end of the current financial year on June 30.
Butler said that the government would not have time to renew the deal before the general election, which must be held by May, so instead opted for the one-year rollover agreement.
Describing Australia as the greatest country in the world, Albanese had used his New Year's message to declare that the country can become stronger in 2025.
Albanese will face a general election in 2025 where his Labour Party aims to win a second term in power.
The election must be held by May.
In his own New Year's message, Peter Dutton, leader of the opposition coalition, said that 2025 was an opportunity for Australia to get ' back on track.'
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