Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday proposed a new public hospitals deal, which will see the federal government pay 50 percent of the rising cost of healthcare.


Part of a hospital in the northern Australian town of Tully stands with its roof missing after Cyclone Yasi passed, February 3, 2011.  (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)
Gillard on Friday introduce the new deal scrapping her predecessor Kevin Rudd's plan to fund 60 percent of new hospital capital costs, which in return demand for states to contribute a third of their goods and services tax (GST) revenue.

Gillard will take the new approach to the The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on Sunday.


"The federal government is prepared to contribute half of the costs of growth in public hospitals," Gillard told Parliament in Canberra on Friday.


"That is, we will contribute 50 cents (50.1 U.S. cents) for every new dollar that is needed for public hospitals."


The federal government's move to pay 50 percent of the growth in health costs would be done in two stages, with a rise to 45 percent in 2014-15, and to 50 percent by 2017-18.


Gillard said states and territories would benefit by 16.43 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years from the 50-50 funding deal.


However, the States would still have to put their share of funding into a national pool that would be administered by the Commonwealth under a new Independent body.


VietNamNet/Xinhuanet