Mr VASTA (2:41 PM) —My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Would the minister inform the House how the government is investing in better health by strengthening cancer care.

Mr ABBOTT (Minister for Health and Ageing) —I thank the member for Bonner for his question. It is appropriate to remind the House that in last night’s budget there were 98 individual health measures involving a net new spend of $3.3 billion—$3.3 billion on health. I am more than capable of proudly saying that the Howard government is still the best friend that Medicare has ever had. It is an even better friend with an extra $3.3 billion that the Treasurer and the Prime Minister have contributed to health over the forward estimates period.

Let me focus for a moment on the very serious issue of cancer. As the Treasurer pointed out last night, cancer is the principal underlying cause of death in this country. One in three men and one in four women will face the reality of cancer in their lives before the age of 75. The good news is that death rates from cancer have been dropping by 1½ per cent a year over the last decade. Last night, this government committed an additional $190 million for cancer detection, cancer care and cancer research.

Let me highlight a few measures. We committed $43 million to implement our election commitment to phase in a national bowel cancer screening program by 2008. We committed $23 million to implement our election commitment to provide local palliative care grants. Another election commitment was implemented last night: $14 million to establish a new coordinating agency, Cancer Australia. And a very important new initiative was $25 million to try to reduce smoking amongst young people.

I refer all members to the comment of the Cancer Council of Australia that this budget is ‘the most comprehensive set of government-funded cancer control priorities ever announced in a Federal budget’. I thank the Treasurer and I thank the Prime Minister.