Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In talking about health, it is interesting to note that the federal minister will not come to the table. The lead speaker could not spend one minute talking about their positive policies, and the last speaker got stuck on negative gearing, because that is apparently to do with health. It just shows that when it comes to health, that side of the House have absolutely nothing. They are a collective of empty shells that do nothing but make cuts to health. Let us talk about what they are doing.

We do not know who would lead a re-elected Turnbull-Abbott government. They do not even know. In the last sitting week, the Prime Minister refused to confirm that he will stay the full term. But what we do know is that a re-elected Turnbull-Abbott government will cut another $60 billion in health, they will sell off Medicare piece by piece and they will bring back their GP tax, which this so-called obstructionist Senate is stopping. Had it not been for Labor, every Australian would be paying, at a minimum, an extra $7 to go to the doctors. The government will continue their perverse cuts to pathology and diagnostic imaging. It surprises me to say this, but Prime Minister Turnbull is actually worse than Tony Abbott. Not many people would believe that, but that is actually how it is going. He has gone places that even Abbott would be too scared to go!

So let us talk about health and let us talk about what happened. I take up the comment of the member for Dobell that $57 billion in health cuts is 'miniscule'. That just shows how arrogant, out of touch and empty that lot over there are. In the three years that we were in government that I was here for, we looked at 22 cancer clinics across this nation—$3.2 billion invested in rural and regional areas. Those opposite want to attack the super clinics. We have two in our area: one in my area, in Wallan, and one in my neighbour the member for Scullin's electorate.

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