PM shouldn't 'threaten' health referendum

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says that the PM's threat of a referendum over hospitals funding is simply a 'political distraction'.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants the states and territories to allow the commonwealth to take majority control of public hospital funding before the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on April 19.

And earlier, Health Minister Nicola Roxon Roxon refused to rule out tough tactics, saying Labor was "very determined" to get agreement at the meeting.

"The prime minister has made it clear that if it needs to sit for more than one day, then it will," she said.

"We'll obviously be putting a lot of effort and energy into the next two weeks, in the hope that issues will have then been resolved by the time we get to COAG."

Ms Roxon said the government was preparing for a referendum on the issue, should the states and territories reject the hospitals reform package.

"We've always been clear that if (agreement) isn't reached that we would take this question to the people," she said.

"That would require a referendum and a referendum requires legislation - of course we are making alternate plans in case that is necessary."

Parliament could even be recalled early, before May's budget, to debate the draft laws, Ms Roxon added.

PM only 'huffing and puffing': Abbott

But the opposition leader says that Rudd already had the power to fund health services.

"So I think that what the prime minister is promising or threatening today is yet another political distraction from a prime minister who desperately needs to be doing something," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

Health reform was Mr Rudd's "plan B" after failing to tackle the issue of climate change, Mr Abbott said.

"But while the prime minister is huffing and puffing about referendums, he is neglecting to actually make a difference," Mr Abbott said.

"And you could make a difference in public hospitals next week if you were prepared to take direct action to bring about change, instead of threatening to brow beat the states, threatening to bring on a referendum."

Queensland expects spirit of cooperation

However, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said on Monday that she does not expect the federal government will have to bully state leaders into agreeing to its hospitals reform plan.

It is becoming an uphill battle for Labor to convince some states of the plan's worth, however Ms Bligh said Queensland was going into the meeting with a generally positive view of the

hospitals package.

"We do have genuine concerns to make sure that the formula for activity-based funding will not disadvantage particularly rural, remote and regional hospitals," she told the ABC on Monday.

"If we can be satisfied of that by the prime minister, then we'll be very much interested in signing up."

Ms Bligh dismissed suggestions the government would lock premiers and chief ministers into the COAG talks until an agreement on the hospitals plan was reached.

"I think Australians expect to see people at this level cooperating in the public interest," she said.

"If you really look at the big reforms (in) Australian history, they've been done by cooperation and that's what I expect to see here."