Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I am happy to take the question from the member for Denison and to agree with him that in fact good general practice is an absolutely vital part of our healthcare system. I was the health minister for four years and I did everything I could to improve our health system, including the operation of general practice. There were bulk-billing incentive payments put in and there were GP care plans established and expanded under my stewardship of that portfolio. I appreciate, in a way that I suspect not all health ministers have, that GPs are not the gatekeepers to the system. They are certainly not just gatekeepers to the health system. They are at the heart of holistic patient care. Good general practice is at the absolute heart of holistic patient care.

I absolutely take the point that the member for Denison makes that general practice is but a part of our Medicare system. I might also make the point that the PBS is perhaps a fifth of our healthcare spend. There are co-payments in the PBS; there always have been, and those co-payments are supported by all sides of this House, I presume. But I want to conclude the answer by reminding the member for Denison of the fundamental principles that this government is pursuing—

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