Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise to support the shadow minister for health's matter of public importance, because goodness knows there is a long history of failure to deliver on health from the members opposite. At the risk of incurring the wrath of the Minister for Health while he is still in the chamber and being accused of backchatting here, I would like to suggest that we welcome the long list of additional PBS medicines that the minister has made available in the last few weeks, which will make important inroads for those with cystic fibrosis and cancer. You will get no argument from members on this side of the House, Minister. Nor will you get argument around the release of research grants money and NHMRC money. But, Minister, that is your job. You are the Minister for Health. It is the core business of your portfolio to release moneys for medical research. It is your core business to make sure that there are affordable medicines available for Australians everywhere.

I noted your comments earlier around private health insurance. It is extraordinary that you should point to private health insurance as some emblematic moment for the Liberal Party and as a sign of achievement, because, if you were to talk to Australians anywhere in this country, they would have a lot to tell you about their experience of value for money when it comes to private health insurance. Indeed, Minister, private health insurance premiums increased by $200 in the last year alone. That is hitting family budgets massively, not just in my electorate of Newcastle but across Australia. An increase of $200 means that families are now paying around $900 extra in annual premiums every year under the Abbott-Turnbull government watch. When you talk to men and women, particularly those who might be facing a cut to their penalty rates now, they are struggling to figure out how they will pay these bills, how they will make ends meet in their family budget. When you jack up private health insurance premiums by those massive amounts, when you sit by and allow that to happen in this country, then you should not be surprised to see private health membership plummeting.

Indeed, what you should be focusing on is how you might support public health in this country, how you might support Medicare. I do not know what it is about the Liberal Party, but you cannot keep your hands off Medicare. There is some ideological opposition that is embedded in your DNA that makes you unable to stand up for Medicare. Forty-odd years ago, you fought us tooth and nail in this parliament—in Old Parliament House down the road—around trying to introduce what was known in those days as Medibank. I am sorry you are leaving, Minister Hunt, because I do enjoy this banter with you! I am sure the Australian people listening to this debate will understand that sometimes this kind of truth hurts, it cuts to the core.

I think the way that these cuts impact on everyday men, women and kids in this country concerns all of us on this side of the House. The member for Macarthur and I are speaking to people all around the country at the moment about the lived experiences of cuts to Medicare under this government. I see the member for Dobell is sitting in the House with us. Indeed we very much appreciated the opportunity to visit her electorate and the neighbouring electorate of Robertson, where we learned that some 30,000 men and women have chosen to delay or defer going to see a GP because they cannot afford it.

It is not just the fact that you have failed dismally to remove a single one of Tony Abbott's cuts from the table—all those zombie cuts are still there on the table—it is that men and women are already paying increased prices. This is something that is already happening. To delay seeking quality medical advice in this country is a matter that concerns Labor members of this House greatly. We believe in a strong public health system. We believe that every Australian deserves the right to access affordable, quality health care wherever they live, regardless of the size of their wallet or their bank account. We will always defend Medicare. Labor created Medicare, and we will always fight to protect it. (Time expired)

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