PM Julia Gillard knifes own health reforms - The Australian

JULIA Gillard has threatened to abandon her own landmark health reforms before the federal election, escalating a row with the conservative states as they seek more funding for public hospitals from the commonwealth.

The Prime Minister, whose government has been wracked by leadership turmoil and has had to abandon its budget surplus commitment after mining tax revenue came in well below forecasts, yesterday warned the states she was prepared to scrap the two-year-old funding agreement if they continued to blame her government for cuts to services.