Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, the Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Budget Measures) Bill 2007, which talks about the impact of some changes in the budget to families—to single families, to families with a dependent spouse, to families that are serving the country overseas. I just want to make the point, Madam Deputy Speaker, that whilst these measures for those families are welcome, and I support them, their outlook is not altogether rosy. I think this is a factor that even the Prime Minister may have recently commented on. They suffer some difficulties. For example, these measures are aimed at low-income earners who are doing it tough—and I am very proud of the fact that I have got a lot of good, decent people in my electorate who are not on fabulous money and will benefit from some of these measures.

I talked about dental health and the announcements in the budget that impact on low-income earners. In fact, there have been some really disturbing statistics released recently that indicate that low-income earners in particular, but Australians generally, are not following up their medical care. They will go to the doctor and get a prescription, but they do not get the prescription filled. Why? They cannot afford it. I think that ought to be of concern. Thirty-four per cent of Australians have not had a prescription filled, have skipped a recommended medical test or treatment or follow-up of a medical problem or have not seen a doctor because of costs. In Canada the figure is 26 per cent. In the UK it is 13 per cent. The federal government needs to tackle that issue. As welcome as these changes to Medicare are, we cannot have Australians not being able to afford appropriate health care. We are supporting the passage of this bill; we just wish it had gone further.

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