Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The one thing that every Australian knows is that, when it comes to health, you cannot trust the Abbott government. The one thing they know is that, if there is a way to undermine Medicare, those on the other side of this parliament will find it. They have attempted to do so ever since they were elected. Their first attack came in the May budget, and they have had to back away from it now. The one thing that you know is that you cannot trust the Abbott government, or any Liberal government, when it comes to health. I will have to admit, the government's attack on Medicare did achieve one thing. It actually united doctors, patients, pensioners and even children. It united all sections of the health system against this government's mean, evil-spirited attack on Medicare—its failed attack.

Today, the government announced that it would not proceed with its unpopular Medicare tax. But who believes that? No-one on this side of the House believes that. All they have done is push the pause button.

An opposition member: That's right. The New South Wales election must be on.

Yes, the New South Wales election must be on. They have paused it and they are going to wait until they have the numbers in the Senate or, alternatively, until after the next election, when they will try to sneak through a co-payment, a value signal, a price signal or whatever they want to call it. Those on the other side of this House do not believe in Medicare. They do not support universal health care and they will use any and every opportunity to undermine it.

When Tony Abbott was the health minister, he used to stand up in this parliament, at the dispatch box, smirking—literally smirking—saying that the Howard government and he himself were the best friends that Medicare ever had. We saw what sort of a friend he was. In the Shortland electorate, bulk-billing plummeted to under 60 per cent. You might ask what the bulk-billing rate was when Labor's term in government finished. It was 82 per cent—what a contrast. Can you ever believe a man that stands up and says he supports Medicare, when every action that he has ever taken has been an attack on Medicare? Now he thinks the Australian people will say, 'Hey, we've listened and we've learnt.' They know that at every single opportunity, those on the other side of the House will be back attacking Medicare.

An opposition member: That's right. It is in their DNA.

It is absolutely in their DNA. They do not know how to support universal health care. They believe that only those people that are 'worthy' welfare recipients—make sure they are worthy though—should be entitled to go and receive bulk-billing from their local doctor. They do not acknowledge the fact that every Australian contributes to Medicare through the Medicare surcharge. We pay for Medicare. Medicare is an Australian institution. Medicare guarantees that all Australians can access health care when they need it, not when they can afford it.

Medicare is the backbone of our health system, and those on the other side of this House have only one agenda: to attack it and, finally, to reintroduce a co-payment or, as it really is, a GP tax—a tax on the sick, a tax on the chronically ill, a tax on the elderly and a tax on children.

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