Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Here we go again. In this opportunity this morning let me ask the question: what sort of member of parliament sets out, as we have just seen evidence of, to scare pensioners, to scare students, to scare young people, to scare people with significant disabilities? The answer is obvious. It is the Labor Party. Their deceit knows no bounds, and their desperation is placing political populism above the emotional interests of the elderly and the vulnerable in their community. I say to the people of Braddon, my constituents: do not listen to a word they say. Their desperation and deceit knows no bounds.

Yes, there will be a co-payment to visit the GP but something they will not tell you is that there will be 10 visits maximum, at which time the traditional bulk-billing arrangements will cut in. They would know, if they were to find a place deep in their hearts, that the current health funding system in this country is unsustainable.

The people of Braddon know me; they know what I stand for; they know my values; and they know that I would not for one moment stand up for a policy that was not in the best interests of our children and our grandchildren. It is time to cut out the deceit. There is a safety net. Everybody should be aware of it, and I am putting it on the record today.

They also should understand that health care in this country is not free; it never has been. The taxpayers of Australia fund health in this country to the tune of $38.90 on average for every standard GP visit that anyone in this country currently attends. It is a myth, a populist message being put out there, that health care in Australia is free. There is nothing that comes to this country free. The hardworking taxpayers of this country pay for health; they pay for education; they pay for welfare; and the list goes on and on. Not only that—

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