Fed: COAG to establish working groups to drive reform=9

AAP General News (Australia)
12-20-2007
Fed: COAG to establish working groups to drive reform=9

Mr Rudd said the commonwealth, state and territory governments were now in a "cooperative
phase" and were ready to spend the year productively moving forward.

"I believe we have a great opportunity in 2008 to reach cooperative agreement on future
benchmarking, outputs and outcomes measurement and incentive payments," he said.

Mr Rudd said negotiation of the upcoming Australian health care agreement would be
a "huge area of work".

"My personal instinct is to achieve this outcome cooperatively and I believe given
the evidence of goodwill that I've seen around the table today that can be achieved.

"But from the commonwealth's point of view we have to achieve that outcome as Australian
people expect that of us."

AAP kc/rl/sp

KEYWORD: COAG RUDD 9 CANBERRA

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