Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

The minister continues to roll out the same old rhetoric of doctors being overpaid to justify changes. However, this minister only ever seems to quote the gross revenue of the top 10 per cent of medical practitioners. The minister does not elaborate on overheads, significant outgoings for technological upgrades and for equipment maintenance, staffing costs, the extensive training required and ongoing education for such specialties. Most importantly, this minister never acknowledges that the Medicare rebate is for patients, not for doctors. It is the patients who will be out of pocket, not the doctors. Not only does cataract surgery help prevent blindness; it endures any scrutiny that this government can apply in terms of the benefit to older Australians. These are people who are able to—

See this speech in context