Gillard switches focus to health

Julia Gillard has stumbled as she moved to shift the election focus to the
traditional Labor strong-point of health for the first time, amid growing support
for the coalition.
The prime minister's attempt to set the election agenda came as the opposition
seized on the latest opinion polls to declare the coalition just a few points shy of
victory.
As Ms Gillard made a $100 million pledge to boost emergency services, Opposition
Leader Tony Abbott travelled to Brisbane to make a $89 million promise to help
parents with the cost of childcare.
Ms Gillard, who on Monday visited Tasmania for the second time since becoming prime
minister, was forced to concede her plan to add more nurses and doctors to emergency
departments was not new.
After initially insisting the $96 million for the plan was new money, the prime
minister later clarified her comments by confirming the funds had been allocated in
the May budget.
"Just to be clear, this is a new announcement with new money," Ms Gillard initially
said.
But the $96 million program is part of more than $7 billion already promised by the
government as part of its health and hospital reform package.
When questioned by journalists, Ms Gillard qualified her remarks, saying: "Obviously
this package is being announced today, so the allocation is being confirmed today."
Under the plan, 2000 specialist emergency nurses and 270 emergency doctors would be
created over the next decade. The new training places would come online from the
beginning of next year.
"It's an important step forward for our emergency departments right around the
country," Ms Gillard said.
"More doctors, more nurses trained with the skills they need to work in emergency
departments."
Mr Abbott meanwhile, flanked by wife Margie who runs a community-based occasional
childcare centre, took his campaign to Brisbane to announce a coalition government
would make childcare more affordable.
The announcement was made in the marginal seat of Petrie, held by Labor's Yvette D'Ath.
If elected, the coalition would index the childcare rebate to inflation, a move
which Mr Abbott said would give families as much as $300 a child more at the maximum
rate of the rebate.
The announcement is in keeping with Mr Abbott's strategy in the first week of the
campaign of targeting cost of living pressures.
Mr Abbott said Labor had let families down on childcare.
"Sure the rebate has been increased but they did promise 260 additional childcare
centres. They have only delivered four," he said.
"It's typical of this government that it makes promises and doesn't deliver."
Treasurer Wayne Swan accused Mr Abbott of trying to trick families, saying fewer
than one per cent of families earning less than $100,000 a year stood to benefit
from the proposed changes.
"That's just 3450 families of more than 500,000 families who use child care," Mr
Swan said.
The major spending promises from both sides of politics comes as support for Ms
Gillard continues to fall.
An Essential Research poll, released on Monday, shows Ms Gillard's approval rating
has slipped three points to 49 per cent over the past week while her disapproval
rating rose three points to 33 per cent.
Mr Abbott's approval rating has also fallen, slumping five points to 35 per cent.
Ms Gillard remains the clear leader in the preferred prime minister stakes with 51
per cent support compared to just 26 per cent for Mr Abbott.
The Essential poll comes after a Newspoll, also published on Monday, showed Labor
had given up a 10-point two-party preferred lead since the start of the campaign
last week to lead the coalition by just four points on 52 per cent.
Buoyed by Mr Abbott's solid performance in Sunday's leaders debate and the Newspoll,
opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb said the coalition was now just a few
points short of an election win.
"I think we've got a very strong foundation. We get another two or three primary
points and we've won the election," he told MTR Radio.
Ms Gillard was somewhat more reserved when asked to comment on the poll results,
predicting "a photo finish" on election day.