Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution in the debate on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2017 because it actually speaks to priority. The budget demonstrates once again how this government is prioritising those at the top end of town, those who are in big business and those who are millionaires; meanwhile, they are again whacking people on the smallest of incomes and middle incomes—people who are earning less than $87,000 a year. I support the amendment that has been moved and in my contribution I wish to outline why. On budget night, there was a lot of rhetoric from the government. They said that they were going to protect Medicare. There was a lot of rhetoric about how they were going to make it fair and a lot of rhetoric about how Labor did not fund the NDIS and that is why they need to increase the Medicare levy. That was all rhetoric.

On the weekend, I had the great opportunity to be participate in a panel as part of the Woodend Winter Arts Festival. This topic came up in conversation. One question came from the audience and they said that there is no real difference between the coalition and Labor. The person was quite cynical about where things were at in politics. The truth is that, when we unpacked it, discussed it and debated it, there is a very big difference in terms of policy between the government and the Labor opposition. Unfortunately, however, the government has started to copy of a lot of Labor's rhetoric in the hope that people will not understand the policy differences and the shallowness of the government. As we have shown since budget night and in this debate, as well as in the debate in our communities, when you have the time to explain to people the real policy differences, people soon realise that the government is nothing but rhetoric. They are not saving Medicare, for all of their claims, and they are not supporting the NDIS in the way that they should. When Labor was in government, the NDIS was fully funded. The money was in the budget. What we have seen from this government is their priority to increase taxes for workers earning over $21,000 by increasing the Medicare levy and, at the same time, cutting big company taxes and cutting the tax that millionaires and people in the top tax bracket pay. That is the truth of it. They are taking from one column and putting it into another column. That is their priority.

In regional electorates, above 80 per cent of workers earn less than $87,000 a year. In my electorate of Bendigo, it is 87,000 people. In some other electorates, like the member for Murray's electorate and the member for Mallee's electorate, nine out of 10 workers earn less than $87,000 a year. What Labor is saying to those households and workers is: 'We don't believe that you should have to pay more tax.' What Labor is saying to workers in regional communities is that we believe that we should continue the tax rates for those on the highest incomes. Instead, we are seeing the government giving the high-income earners, the millionaires, a tax cut. We are seeing from the government tax cuts for big business and they are yet again expecting our workers—people earning a wage, like our doctors, nurses, and school cleaners—to pay more. As an example, some millionaires will get a tax cut and they will save about $16,400 a year, whilst someone earning $60,000 will pay an extra $300 a year in tax. Another example: a nurse might be earning $70,000 a year and will pay an extra $350 a year in tax, while someone earning $500,000 a year will receive a tax cut of $6,400. It is in the figures. They say to people, like our teachers and our nurses—people who have chosen to support our community; our hardworking public servants—that they should have to pay more tax while those who earn the bigger salaries, and there are very few of them in regional communities, will get a tax cut. It is just not fair to allow low- and middle-income earners to be asked to pay more tax while millionaires and those in the top tax bracket receive a tax cut.

It is also quite interesting that the government has chosen to again highlight Medicare. I just want to put on the record again how shocking this government has been in supporting Medicare. Just after the federal election, like the member for Herbert, I launched by own inquiry and set up a task force to examine the rising costs of health care in my electorate and what is happening with Medicare. The truth is that people are really scared about what is happening to our once-universal healthcare system. They are really scared about what is happening to Medicare. Yet again, this government has lied to them.

At the round tables we held throughout the electorate, some quite alarming results came out. We talked to people in the postcode 3550, which is the postcode for Bendigo. We surveyed all the medical services in that postcode and found that we are down to one practice that is 100 per cent bulk-billing, and that is the Bendigo Community Health Centre. That is the only 100 per cent bulk-billing practice left in 3550 postcode. We found that throughout the electorate people were paying, on average, $21 out of pocket for each GP visit. We found that the number of clinics that did not bulk-bill concession card holders was on the increase. We found one clinic, on the east side of town, actually charging $50 out of pocket per doctor's visit, and that was also for pensioners and for children. This government will say: 'Well, that's just competition. Go to the next clinic.' The problem is that we are getting to a stage in regional Australia where there is no 'next clinic'; every clinic has an out-of-pocket fee attached. Whilst the government says that they are lifting the freeze, that will not be until next year. And, as we have already heard in this debate, it is by only 12c. These people are paying on average $21 out of pocket per visit; 12c and $21 does not add up.

So, what we have seen from this government is a confirmation that Bendigo residents will continue to pay these high out-of-pocket fees. Here are some of the comments that we heard from people. One Bendigo retiree said: 'I'm so grateful for Medicare. Without Medicare, the last 12 months would have been terrible. When you are going through sickness you do not want to have the extra stress of paying out-of-pocket up-front fees. However, I have noticed that they have started to ask me to pay more and more.'

A former paramedic living in Heathcote said that people are concerned about what is happening, that 'there is a fragmentation of services, particularly in our small towns.' At the same hearing we heard how in the town of Rochester it is $50 out of pocket to see a doctor. So, from your bank account, you have to be able to pay the full fee, and then they reimburse you. But you are still $50 down. For somebody who is on a fixed income, that is a lot to be out of pocket by. We also heard what the freeze of the Medicare rebate means for GPs, how they are charging more for visits. We heard from a doctor in Maldon who is trying to keep their clinic going. They are close to bankruptcy. They know that incomes are low in Maldon, and they know that for every extra dollar they charge they lose more and more patients. Fewer people will actually go to the doctor when they need it. They are prolonging going to seek help. In fact, 40 per cent of the people who participated in our hearings said that they delayed seeing a doctor because of price. These are the out-of-pocket expenses that they are paying this year and that they paid last year. And the 12c that this government is offering them is not going to help those GPs lower the out-of-pocket fees.

One hundred per cent of people said they believed that the government should be doing all it can to protect a universal health system. And right now you cannot say that what is going on in Medicare is universal. If we have entire parts of our community that cannot access a bulk-billing doctor then we can no longer say, hand on heart, that we have a universal healthcare system. People are now paying more for Medicare and more for their GP services than they ever have before. That is what really stinks about what the government is doing. They are saying to the 40 per cent of people in my electorate who are already—

Debate interrupted.

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