Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to indicate to the House that the government proposes that amendments (2) through to (9) be agreed to and that amendments (1) and (10) be disagreed to. I suggest, therefore, that it might suit the convenience of the House first to consider amendments (2) through to (9) and, when those amendments have been dealt with, to consider amendments (1) and (10). Accordingly, I move:

That Senate amendments (2) to (9) be agreed to.

I am going to speak briefly on these amendments as they have been agreed to between the government and the opposition, also with the work of the minor parties. The reason I want to speak briefly to them, however, is that the bill which is being amended is a compliance bill. It is an important part of the government’s determination to protect the integrity of Medicare, which the public benefit from and, as people in this House would know, had an expenditure of $14 billion in the 2008-09 financial year. These measures in the compliance bill intend to enhance Medicare Australia’s program. I will not go through all of the details of the way that Medicare Australia will be given power to require the production of documents, et cetera, where there have been concerns about claims made to Medicare but I want to flag that amendments (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) deal with that substantive matter.

We have had productive discussions with the opposition. As a result, the government is prepared to accept these eight amendments. They deal with a tightening of the notification process. They have been issues raised by professional groups about their involvement in the process. It allows me to specify that Medicare Australia can consult with particular professional organisations in dealing with the compliance matters. Given that we have a different view on the remaining two amendments, which I will speak to in a moment, it is worth the House noting that these are substantial changes in a complex area, making sure that we are protecting the integrity of a significant amount of taxpayers’ money, ensuring that for the small number of medical professionals and other health professionals who might do the wrong thing, there is a mechanism for Medicare to be able to investigate those matters. So it is an important initiative which the government regards as one that is necessary to protect the integrity of Medicare. Therefore, we were quite happy to work with professional groups and with the opposition.

I would like to thank Minister Bowen, Minister for Human Services, who had the carriage of the implementation issues, for the work he has done. He is overseas at the moment and has asked me to pursue this matter. So I would like to speak in support of the bill and to thank all those who have been involved in dealing with what is a technical area and putting forward suggestions which the government thinks will enhance the process.

See this speech in context