The early days of the 2016 election campaign and what has become clear is how each of the major parties plan to position health.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pitching health as an issue intrinsically linked to the Coalition's innovation agenda, while Labor leader Bill Shorten is emphasising public health and his party's commitment to Medicare, public hospitals an other programmes.
At a doorstop at a private hospital in Brisbane yesterday, Mr Turnbull said: "One of the key elements in our national economic plan is our innovation and science agenda, which as you know was launched last December. And a key part of that, is ensuring that we get greater collaboration between primary research, universities, business, industry, and of course here at the hospital."
Mr Turnbull highlighted the work of Professor Ross Crawford, Professor of Orthopaedic Research at Queensland University of Technology, who leads a collaboration with medical device company Stryker developing robotic technology for use in hip replacements.
"...35,000 hip replacement operations in Australia a year, close to 100,000 hip and knee operations, all of which can be affected more efficiently, better patient outcomes, and over time at lower cost, by the use of this technology," said Mr Turnbull. "But this is really important and it's an example of what we are committed to doing more of, because we know that a successful Australia, a confident Australia, will be more innovative, more technology, more science, more collaboration of this kind, and of course a win-win here in the hospital environment, better outcomes for patients and more cost effective, so ultimately lower costs per procedure for the taxpayer and indeed the patient that is contributing to paying for it."
Virtually at the same time, Mr Shorten was in North Queensland highlighting his party's support for Medicare. Mr Shorten has committed to legislating the retention of Medicare as a public health programme, although the detail remains unclear.
"But more importantly, in my conversation with Australians, and they're the ones who've got a weigh up what's in their interests after the election, a vote for Labor is a vote for real action on climate change, it's a vote for proper education funding, for schools, it’s a vote for Medicare and hospitals and health funding," he said in response to a question during a radio interview.
Health is unsurprisingly emerging as a key area of difference between the major parties in this campaign.
Labor has opposed many of the Coalition's health measures since its election in 2013, including in relation to Medicare and PBS co-payments, it has to be said with the support of many stakeholder groups.
