Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

And I say to the member for Wakefield—or 'the persistent interjector', as he is known in this parliament—if you are not going to listen to us, listen to Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard, who on 1 January this year, the start of the new year, said in The Australian that in the past, the not-too-distant past, both major parties of this parliament used to actually approach some of these big strategic issues in a bipartisan way. I say to the member for Wakefield and his colleagues: work with us to address the future sustainability of Medicare, to improve patient outcomes and to respond to the challenges of an ageing population.

The Intergenerational report is going to point to some of those challenges. I often use, as a canary-in-the-coalmine insight into what lies ahead for this country, what is happening in Japan, which has a major ageing-demographic problem. In Japan at the moment, the sale of adult nappies exceeds the sale of the baby variety. In Australia, the consequences for health care, the consequences for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the consequences for residential aged care are profound. To say we should not have to do something about that is simply burying your head in the sand.

People who can contribute to better outcomes in that area are in this room. The member for Wakefield and his vomiting dog, if he likes, can be part of that solution! People who can make a difference in that area are in our hospitals. My daughter is a young doctor and my wife is a career nurse; they can point to some areas of the healthcare system where we can really make a difference. People who can make a difference are in the GP practices and clinics.

I say to those opposite: if you don't like the coalition proposals to make health care sustainable, tell us what your alternative is. I am listening. We want to work together— (Time expired)

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