Premiers and chief ministers have called for a 50-50 funding deal to be locked in ahead of Friday’s first meeting in Canberra. But Anthony Albanese attempted to hose down expectations he would be able to extend the deal beyond September, citing budget constraints. “We‘re inheriting a trillion dollars of debt, what I will do is have constructive discussions with the premiers and chief ministers,” the Prime Minister told Nine. “People want to know that they can get the healthcare they need when they need it, and we’re all committed to achieving that.”Mr Albanese hosted dinner for the leaders on Thursday night at The Lodge, where health, skilled migration and the energy crisis were canvassed. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state and territory leaders were in lock-step on the issue. “We’re absolutely united. Health has to be front and centre at today’s discussion,” she said on Friday.“It’s wonderful that health is finally on the agenda. When Scott Morrison was prime minister, we wanted to talk about health and we weren’t allowed to.”NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he was confident the states would be able to secure the funding deal.“Certainly, there was a good spirit in the room last night and health is an issue. That’s a national problem. It obviously affects all the states as well,” he said. “So, we had some very good talks, and I think they’ll continue today, but I’m very confident we’ll get a good outcome.”Health funding has historically been evenly split between the states and the commonwealth until Tony Abbott slashed the federal share to 40 per cent. It was later increased to 45 per cent by Malcolm Turnbull and ultimately beefed up to its current 50-50 share during the pandemic. That deal is set to expire in September. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he was hopeful a deal would be struck on Friday.“We had a very productive discussion last night at The Lodge about extending funding and I hope that we‘ll be able to reach that agreement today,” he told reporters outside of Parliament House. “It’s not the time for the commonwealth government to be doing less … because Covid, from a health point of view or hospital point of view, is not over.”
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