Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fairfax for his question and note his deep interest in this matter. Members will recall that recently the Prime Minister announced that we would lift the cap on full fee paying places for medicine from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. This meant, effectively, that up to 400 more students would have the opportunity to study medicine each year. Members will also recall that COAG embraced this initiative most enthusiastically. All Labor state premiers supported this, particularly Queensland Premier Beattie.

The ink was barely dry on the COAG minutes before the member for Jagajaga rushed out and said that Labor would oppose the lifting of the cap, thereby denying up to 400 more students the opportunity to study medicine, and that she would move to disallow the instrument once it reached parliament. The matter came as a great surprise to many in the Labor Party, not the least being the Premier of Queensland, who was stunned to find that his initiative was going to be rolled by the member for Jagajaga. But it seems that there were others who were equally surprised, particularly the Labor frontbench. In an article—and I thank the Australian for this—published on 22 February, entitled ‘Macklin set to be rolled on fees’, it seems that the member for Lalor was not very happy with the member for Jagajaga. She said in no uncertain terms that the member for Jagajaga had to be put in her place. She said:

“The only body that can determine this is federal caucus ...

“Currently there is not a federal Labor Party position on this matter.”

Apparently, it has emerged that the member for Jagajaga did not consult the frontbench—she did not consult caucus—before signalling that she would oppose Premier Beattie’s plan.

We have to ask: who is going to win on this one—the member for Jagajaga, who is opposing the opportunity for up to 400 students to study medicine, or the member for Lalor, who says she had no right to say that in the first place? While Labor caucus squabbles over this one, I will assist them. I now table the instrument to lift the cap from 10 to 25 per cent. The clock starts ticking now.

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