States call an emergency meeting, as Anthony Albanese keeps hospital funding negotiations behind closed doors

Anthony Albanese has denied walking away from a health funding deal with the States, insisting negotiations over funding will continue behind closed doors. As the State and Territory leaders called an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister said his Government was continuing to negotiate Australia’s next five-year public hospital funding deal. “We’re working through those issues, we don’t conduct negotiations through public press conferences,” Mr Albanese said. “What we have on the table is an increased amount of funding. What was on the table at that time was $13 billion, we currently have $20 billion on the table.” The Prime Minister wouldn’t confirm a deal would be reached this year. “We’ll wait and see. If not, then the funding will rollover,” Mr Albanese said. “So the States have a big incentive on engaging constructively, because otherwise it rolls over for another year.” State and Territory leaders on Wednesday vowed to present a united front and called for a special National Cabinet meeting to break the negotiations stalemate, after it was revealed on Tuesday that Mr Albanese had written to them to ask that they rein in health spending. Roger Cook said he was “hopeful” and agreement will be reached “soon”. “I’ve known this bloke for over 40 years, he has the same principles, the same values as I do when it come to making sure people can get the health care they need when they need it,” a diplomatic WA Premier said. On Tuesday, Mr Cook called on the Commonwealth to “honour” the deal struck in 2023 to increase its share of growing hospital activity costs to 45 per cent and 45 per cent by 2035. The agreement is due to be finalised by the end of the year, and would take effect from July 2026. “They’re the ones that signed up to it and so they should honour that,” he said in Bunbury. A day later, he denied he was “weak at the knees” while standing next to the Prime Minister. “Not at all, because the Prime Minister knows that I will always stand up for Western Australia,” Mr Cook said. “We’ll continue to make sure that we work with the Commonwealth to improve the full range of care opportunities across people’s life journey “I met with my fellow Premiers today and we are continuing to push forward with that conversation.”