Another Rudd pre-election promise to fix something has turned to dust;

HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon has effectively ruled out the Government's election threat to take over the state hospital systems to rectify poor performances.

Kevin Rudd warned before the 2007 election that if the Commonwealth and states had not begun putting in place a health reform plan by mid-2009, a Labor government would propose that the Commonwealth assume full funding responsibility for public hospitals.

but at least the blame game has stopped, what a relief;

While there were some positive signs, Ms Roxon said it did not mean that all parts of the public system were fixed.

The Government would examine the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission's recommendations due at the end of June, before deciding on the plan ahead.

The Government had always made it clear its preference was to work with the states rather than have a takeover, Ms Roxon said.

Same crap State Labor Health service, only now there is no federal government to take them to task.

Tony abbot sees the shiftiness in the eyes of Rudd, Swan and Roxon and swings early;

"Prior to the election I said for years that Labor didn't believe in private health insurance and would means test the rebate," he said.

"Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard said till they were blue in the face that this was a lie.

"Well it seems it's going to turn out to be absolutely true and the public were conned."

Mr Abbott says there will be a decline in the number of Australians taking out private health insurance if the Government scraps the rebate.

"The competitor to private health insurance is a free good. People can get public hospital treatment for free and you can't expect 10 million Australians to continue to take out private health insurance if they have got to pay an extra $1,000 or $1,500 a year," he said.

"If we do have significant numbers of people dropping out of private health insurance, as a result of this Government's broken promise, you're going to have enormous pressure on the public health system which is already struggling and you're going to have a big cost shift to the states."

Abbots right of course, but its not so much the cost shift to the states that will the the problem, they never had an issue with taking money from the Federal purse now Rudds in. No its the added burden on waiting lists and the fundamental lack of staff in the public system that will completely blow apart.

Just more unintended consequences of Rudds blithering.

What should a Federal Health Minister do should the supply of her Anti-viral drugs be found wanting? Why its simple, just extend the shelf life of the drugs she should have replaced with new stocks, of course;

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved an extension of Tamiflu's shelf-life.

Stale drugs...yum!!

But hey don't panic just yet, the dictatorship of the proletariat is covered;

The Government says its own supplies are not affected by the run on the drugs, as it has a contract with the manufacturer to regularly update its stockpile.

With Both the Opposition and Fielding both holding their ground, at least publicly, on the blatant "Alcopops" Tax grab by Roxon and Swan, what hope do they have?

Maybe none, and maybe thats the point;

WAYNE Swan has dared Malcolm Turnbull to "load the gun" on an early election by demanding the Senate reconsider rejected legislation lifting taxes on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks.

If the Liberal leader refuses to reverse his opposition to the $1.6 billion tax increase, Senate rejection of the bill could provide a constitutional trigger for a double dissolution of the parliament and a fresh election, depending on the nature of the bill and the timing involved.

While the Treasurer stressed that the Government was not planning an early election, his deliberate move to raise the possibility, combined with a savage attack on Mr Turnbull as obstructionist, heralded a marked shift in government tactics to paint the Opposition Leader as negative and out of touch.

It still may be to early to assume that its a DD move.

When asked if the Government was trying to trigger a double dissolution election with the alcopops tax bill, Ms Gillard said, "No".

Well, that settles it... Get ready for a Double Dissolution as the Rudd government looks to cash in on its overwhelming popularity, and seeks to wrong foot Costello's leadership plans. 

The Alcopops war is over and sanity has prevailed. Rudd and Roxon are exposed as money grubbing tax mongers, and Steve Fielding has stood fast on his Principals.

Julia Gillard is showing the defeated attitude of a petulant child;

LEIGH SALES: So you will be returning the $300 million to the distillers, even though they've said they'd be happy for you to spend it on rehabilitation and education?

JULIA GILLARD: The legal position here is clear. The Liberal Party I think at some point during this debate decided it was wise to go for this distraction, but it is a distraction. Our obligation is to return the tax dollars to the distillers.

But thats NOT TRUE;

Distilled Spirits Industry Council spokesman Stephen Riden says the industry is not calling for a refund of the $300 million already collected by the Government.

But Gillard Roxon and Rudd are looking for a symbolic action to hang Fielding with. Nothing more than lip pouting childishness.

Really Roxon was just interested in gaining a 70% tax grab increase on a easy target, but senator Steve Fielding is taking the government at face value and forcing Roxons hand in terms of genuineness of the taxes purpose; 

The senator (Steve Fielding) said that Health Minister Nicola Roxon was considering his proposal to put health warning labels on bottles of alcohol and closing the "crazy" loophole that allows advertisements for alcohol during sporting programs at anytime of the day.

"If the Government hasn't moved on these issues I'm reluctantly being forced into a position of not being able to support the tax beyond six months," Senator Fielding said.

"Family First will be moving ahead with its intention to move a sunset clause that gives the Government six months to attack and address this issue (binge drinking) beyond just a tax grab."

But a spokesman for the Minister said the Government was not considering any restrictions on alcohol advertising times.

I think Fielding will find the actual commitment to fighting binge drinking from the Government ends with an increased revenue stream.

The AMA want us taxpayers to pay so the sports people can play;

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says the Federal Government should consider buying up sports sponsorship as part of its war on binge drinking.

The association's president Rosanna Capolingua has told a parliamentary inquiry into the alcopops tax hike that increasing the excise is only one part of the solution.

Dr Capolingua says the Government needs to address marketing and the promotion of alcohol as well as the tax issue and should "perhaps consider buying out alcohol sponsorship of major sporting events".

"The Australian culture is very much aligned to sport," she said.

"At the moment, when we're watching the cricket or the football, alcohol seems to go hand in hand with that.

"We celebrate our sporting prowess with alcohol. There's a lot of opportunities for the Government to make some very strong stands to shift our culture of alcohol abuse in Australia."

Yet more "Nanny State" nonsense.

I hereby demand the government appoint a permanent lollipop lady to me, so i may cross the road safely. Its obvious I cant be trusted to do so on my own, its far to dangerous... look at the statistics people!!!

Its past time we all grew up and take some personal responsibility. More so, punish those who wont, so the rest of us don't have to suffer this puerile "save us government" crying.

The plea is moot anyway. The Alcopops tax will slush silently into "consolidated revenue", never to be seen again.

Roxon is getting on with the important tasks that will see real improvement to the state of physical and mental heath facilities and services in the nation;

Alcopops tax to include 'malternatives': Roxon 

"These (amendments) will ensure that malternatives, products based on beer or wine that are being used to try to get around this alcopops legislation, will also be taxed at the same rate," she said.

She can now retire having achieved in one term what others failed to do in decades. Bravo.

The latest report that ends with a hand stuck out for Santa Rudd to fill with gold is  "Skin cancer prevention: a blue chip investment in public health", commissioned by Cancer Council Australia and the Australasian College of Dermatologists.

Hardly one to argue with, given;

...study of past skin cancer awareness campaigns, making use of projected growth in skin cancer-related costs, has identified savings of $2.32 for every taxpayer dollar spent.

A rolling awareness campaign over the next 20 years, costing taxpayers $8 million a year, would lead to further savings while preventing 20,000 melanomas and 49,000 non-melanoma skin cancer cases.

But like with the Pension increase, a very worthwhile spend, how is Rudd going to afford this investment in health? he has blown our budget already and is milking a 200 Billion Dollar line of credit that will see us destitute when he is finally voted out.

And yes.. The picture was totally necessary. ;-)

Gosh what a surprise. Even with the Global Economic Crisis well and truly savaging the world, unemployment hurtling down into murky and unknown depths, GDP needing some $42 Billion dollars of slush to avoid the 2 consecutive negatives Rudd fears so much...

A Rudd review committee has suggested fixing dental services with a Tax hike...

The Prime Minister's hand-picked reform body has handed the Government a sweeping blueprint for the nation's future health system, urging a greater focus on preventive health and a 50 per cent hike to the Medicare levy to expand the scheme's coverage to dental services.

The increased levy would represent an extra $442 a year for taxpayers on average full-time earnings and $1125 a year for those earning $150,000 a year. 

Is this the only thing the left understand are Tax hikes? Thats not reform its rewarding the current ineptitude of management with more funding for the same old rubbish. The golden rule of business; Paying more for a bad service, just means more bad service.

 Update:

AUSTRALIANS could be asked to pay up to 14 per cent of their income for health services under a new social insurance scheme.

The option – similar to the compulsory superannuation levy - is one of three canvassed in a new interim report from a commission hand picked by the Prime Minister to shape the direction of the nation’s health system.

A second reform option, which would set up commonwealth-funded regional health bodies, would also require the takeover of state hospitals and community health services.

The third option tweaks the existing system of split healthcare responsibilities to hold states and territories more directly accountable for the money they get from Canberra through new pay-for-service and pay-for-performance regimes.

Well, lets think about how this will pan out.  

First option; A tax never fixed anything broken but more money is always welcomed by the fat-leech ALP governments.

Second option; Didn't the ALP cane Howard for even suggesting this? Didn't they Jump up and down when the Federal government intervened in saving a Hospital in Tasmania?

Third Option; we can call this Health Watch. All the right noises to suggest things will improve, but it is just "business as usual". 

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Rudd has now run out of review room. Time to move to Action;

KEVIN Rudd's hand-picked health reform commission will urge the Prime Minister to seize control of key state-run aspects of the nation's health system, as part of an overhaul aimed at boosting service and standards of care.

The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission will today also urge Canberra to create mega-clinics, where patients could access general practitioners, chemists, diagnostic services and allied health professionals, all on the one premises.

The commission, appointed a year ago to review the health system, has prescribed greater emphasis on primary health services, arguing that helping people stay healthy is cheaper and smarter than waiting until they become ill enough to require treatment in hospital.

The problem is, as it always is with Labor, the inept handling of Australia's finances now means we have to borrow to see any of these reforms happen. More deficit and more debt. No wonder the report was not released until after the stimulus package was rammed through.

Like the 2020 ideas, this review will demand the funding of unfordable schemes, Rudd must either ignore them; making a mockery of his "reviewing" style, or run us further into hoc as the folly of the states are picked up by federal tax payers dollars. 

Maybe Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon should remember she is NOT the "Minister of Consolidated Revenue Raising". Seems some cleaver Aussies have dodged her Alcopop Tax, something about brewing a beer rather than a premix. Good for them. But Roxon in true "Distribute the wealth" style has called foul. If only this was the major concern of the health portfolio.

When will the Labor guys figure this out... You don't solve issues with Tax.  

But really, my advice Roxon, drop your taxation plans and focus on finding out why women are left to miscarriage in public hospital toilets.