| Publication: | The Australian |
|---|---|
| Date: | 12 August 2009 |
| Section: | Health |
Siobhain Ryan
Article excerpt:
THE Coalition will tweak rather than block controversial budget cuts to the Medicare safety net, but hold out for more wide-ranging changes to legislation that could force home births underground. Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton said yesterday while he would consider amendments to the safety net measure, he had to balance his concerns about the cuts with the need to protect the nation's finances. "If we block this measure then there's a considerable cost to the taxpayer that's involved in terms of the revenues, and we've taken a position that this is a government that has run us into enormous debt," he said.
