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

and by Labor's approach it is evident to all Australians that they have no grasp of reality whatsoever. They were a shocking government. They were the worst government since Federation and they are demonstrating at the moment in opposition that they have no opportunity to turn that around. These people have no comprehension of how to pay, how to manage money or how to provide services to people on a sustainable basis, because they rack debt up every time they get into government. Then, of course, it is our job to come in and clean up Labor's mess. It is known to people at a state level and it is known to people now at a federal level. It happened after the Hawke-Keating years and it happened after the Rudd-Gillard disastrous years.

I am not going to stand by and watch Medicare collapse under its own weight in this country. I want to make sure that we can provide the changes for today so that, with an ageing population and with the demands that a modern society like ours has on the introduction of expensive medical technologies, we can be the first adopters of things like robotic surgeries. All of that comes with huge expense—and people want us to pay for that. People want us to pay for genetic testing, which is just around the corner for the Australian population, which maps the DNA of the body to indicate what predisposition people may have for particular diseases. DNA testing indicates to people the cancers they may be likely to have later in life; it says to people that they may have a predisposition for a particular disease and, if they have children with a carrier of the same gene, there is a greater likelihood that that that gene may be carried to their own children.

These medical technologies will have to be paid for, not just next year but over the coming decade and beyond. If the Labor Party want to pretend to the Australian public that we can have four out of five services for free when people see a GP in this country, they are kidding themselves. I do not think the Australian people will fall for it.

What is it that we propose that is so offensive to the Labor Party? We say that we want Australians who have the capacity to pay the $7 co-payment to make that contribution and we will retain bulk-billing for those who cannot. I want bulk-billing to be about providing for those who cannot afford the $7. As the Treasurer said in question time today, there is a second safety net so that if, within a calendar year, a concession card holder or a child under the age of 16 goes to the doctor, has a blood test or an X-ray—

Opposition members interjecting—

See this speech in context