Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

is not the be-all and end-all of Medicare, but it is important. It should be widely available, particularly to children and pensioners, and that is just what has happened thanks to the policies of the Howard government. The latest Medicare statistics came out last Friday and they show that in the December quarter the national bulk-billing rate had gone up to 77.1 per cent. That is 10.6 percentage points more than in December 2003. It is the 12th consecutive quarterly increase in the GP bulk-billing rates.

See this speech in context