John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition asked me about government health policy. Let me start by invoking the words of my friend and colleague the Minister for Health and Ageing: the Howard government is the best friend that Medicare has ever had. Under this government’s changes to bulk-billing arrangements—and I remember when those who sat opposite only talked about bulk-billing levels; it was their constant mantra that bulk-billing has fallen under this government—the truth is that, for people over the age of 65, for children under the age of 16 and for people living in remote and regional areas of Australia, bulk-billing levels are higher than they have ever been since the introduction of Medicare.

I then move from bulk-billing to the Medicare safety net. The Medicare safety net is going to be abolished by the Labor Party. The Medicare safety net guarantees that, for average families, after your out-of-pocket expenses go beyond $500 a year, you get an 80 per cent refund under Medicare. That was a policy that we introduced. It was a policy that was voted against by the Labor Party. It is a policy that they are still pledged to repeal. The Leader of the Opposition asked me about our policies. I am very, very happy to go on. That is our policy. Our policy is to keep the safety net; Labor’s policy is to abolish the safety net. Our policy is to drive bulk-billing levels in the areas I have mentioned to record highs; Labor is now left silent on the issue of bulk-billing. We have continued to maintain a world-class pharmaceutical benefits scheme. We have invested more money, year after year, in medical research in this country. I am proud of the medical research credentials of this government.

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