Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

This evening I welcome the chance to make a contribution to this cognate debate on the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009, the Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Bill 2009 and the Midwife Professional Indemnity (Run-off Cover Support Payment) Bill 2009. With thousands of Australian women, I welcome the Minister for Health and Ageing’s most recent backflip, which is that the government will offer a two-year reprieve—or, as the member for Dunkley said, a stay of execution—for midwives to attend homebirths. This was clearly the most controversial aspect of this legislation and, while it is not yet fully resolved, it is yet another embarrassing backflip for the Rudd Labor government.

The minister is all over the place on health decisions. Recently I spoke about the cuts to chemotherapy medication, following representations from several constituents—some seriously ill. Thankfully, the minister realised the error of her ways and backflipped on these plans as well. This government has had an array of shamefaced backdowns and has left serious uncertainty over a number of important issues—for example, private health, IVF treatment, youth allowance, funding for the National Academy of Music and cataract surgery. How can we forget the Deputy Prime Minister’s involvement in axing IVF funding after tabling a petition in 2005 calling for no changes to Medicare funding of IVF treatments. Ms Gillard said it is a cruel thing to do to Australian women, particularly older Australian women, whose only hope of falling pregnant is through the IVF process. But what did she do when she became a minister? Nothing.

The government’s hypocrisy is blatant and its approach to health is sickly. The shambolic decision making is the result of a government that is focused on re-election and focus group feedback rather than on the interests of the Australian public. If it were not for the public outcry, the 2,000-strong rally yesterday with women shouting ‘home birth rocks’ and the pressure from the coalition, the government would not be having a change of heart.

As we have heard, this legislation provides MBS and PBS access for nurse practitioners and midwives, which will commence on 1 November 2010, and Commonwealth subsidised indemnity insurance for midwives working in a ‘collaborative’ setting, to commence on 1 July 2010. These bills extend Commonwealth subsidised indemnity insurance to eligible midwives. It is the definition of eligibility that drew a strong public response. The indemnity insurance intention was not to cover midwives providing birthing services outside of a clinical setting, forcing homebirths underground and risking the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies. Coupled with the national registration and accreditation scheme to make indemnity insurance a mandatory requirement of registration, the unfortunate result made it effectively illegal for independent midwives to provide homebirthing services. Individuals who practised as midwives without registration could have faced a maximum penalty of $30,000.

The minister now appears to have adopted the position advocated by the coalition to maintain the status quo and allow midwives to continue to assist in homebirths. As I understand it, they will be exempt from holding indemnity insurance for the next two years, which will enable them to continue to assist in homebirths. While they can assist in homebirths, they will not be insured. I make this point: they will not be insured during that period, which is quite a problem. This is a step forward and it will allow for debate, costings and the examination over the next two years, but let us not forget that it should never have come to this in the first place.

Midwives and nurses are the cornerstone of health services. I am a proud father of two children and was present at the birth of my daughter and my son—I was not much help, by the way. The midwife in attendance did all the work. On a wet and rainy night, the obstetrician turned up almost after the first birth had occurred.

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