Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (17:20): I am shocked but not surprised that this motion has come from the member for Hornsby, and shadow Minister for Health. I am not surprised because no‑one knows more about cutting health in this State than the New South Wales Liberal Party. When members opposite came to power in 2011, paralysis set in. They took a scalpel to the health system. But do not just believe me; the NSW Commission of Audit final report of 4 May 2012 stated, "Over the last decade"—that is, during the term of the previous Labor Government—"Health current expenditure has almost doubled." It states further:

Current expenditure in NSW Health appears to be adequate at present but demand is increasing with population growth and ageing, technological improvements and rising expectations. Health costs are increasing with demand.

So what did we see from the new Government in 2011? The Grange-sipping Premier at that time, moderate puppetmaster of the New South Wales Liberal Party Barry O'Farrell, took a scalpel and cut $3 billion out of the health system in September, after that final report of 4 May 2012. The health Minister conceded:

The labour expense cap is $775 million over four years. Local health districts have been given control over how they achieve these savings.

A further $2.2 billion would be cut as part of budget measures. But it goes even further. In 2015, under the Baird Government, the health budget had spiralled out of control. As the Minister for Health said, members opposite put a cap on workers. They call them our union mates, but every health worker in this State should be a friend of every member in this place. They turn up to our hospitals, care for our patients and look after local families on the front lines. They carried us through the pandemic, and what did they get from those opposite? They got nothing more than a pay cut and disrespect, which they simply did not deserve. It was an absolute outrage to watch that occur. Any local member could front up to their hospital, hear the workers and see the good work that they were doing, but they were rewarded with nothing but spin.

The Liberal Party is trying to rewrite history yet again, but it cannot, because the facts are in. The Liberal Party carved up the NSW Health budget, and we are still recovering. This motion is nothing more than an attempt to cast a shadow over the reality of the past. Opposition members can put all the spin on it they like; they are the spin doctors of the modern age. But members on this side—as well as everyone else throughout the health system, particularly patients—know that there is no greater enemy of the New South Wales health system than the Liberal Party. They can see what members opposite have done because the proof is there. But not all hope was lost because in the 2023 election, like the second coming, a saviour was born by the name of Ryan John Park. I reiterate what the Minister said about the budget:

The 2023-24 NSW Budget will invest more than $2.5 billion over four years in the State's frontline healthcare workforce …

That gave the workers the resourcing and the funding that they needed, and the largest pay increase that they have ever seen. Waiting times have come down, particularly for elective surgery, because of the saviour and the presents that he has bestowed upon us. We now have a health Minister and a government that understand the value of a health system and the importance of what it does. It means that patients are getting the care that they need. We have been in government just over 12 months and have done so much work, but we know there is so much more to do.

This motion highlights how out of touch the New South Wales Liberal Party is. It is inept and incapable. Whilst so many workers escaped the tyranny of the former Liberal Government for the prosperous shores of Queensland to the north and Victoria to the south, where they got the respect that they need and deserve, the Liberal Party is in its rightful place on the Opposition benches. It is best kept away from the NSW Treasury and the New South Wales health system.