Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes. For example, people with intractable heart failure, who need to see a cardiologist, or people with multiple sclerosis, who need to see a neurologist, do not go to their appointments, because they can't afford it. And that's a fact; that's occurring every day in Australia. Certainly in our medical visits around the countryside, from places as far south as Devonport in Tasmania to Rockhampton in Queensland, we see similar things occurring time and time again. This is a real difference in Australia now compared to the Australia I grew up in and it's something that we need to address. This government has shown absolutely no inclination to do so.

Some newer treatments that are world's best practice and some investigations, such as MRIs for prostate cancer, which are much less invasive, safer and better investigations for men suspected of having prostate cancer, have been waiting to get a Medicare rebate for years and nothing has happened. That leaves men—in particular older men, who often are of very limited means—having to pay an up-front fee of around $600. This is happening every day in Australia.

In health, the future is all about health data. Data collection is a major part of our health system now and will be increasingly so in the future, yet this government has sold off the Australian cancer registry, the first database in Australian health care of national significance and importance. They sold it to private enterprise, meaning that there will be fees involved in accessing that data in the future. It's another discriminatory health practice that this government persists in.

In housing, many people of retirement age still have large mortgages and many young people see themselves as permanent renters, yet investors are given enormous tax advantages by this government. It's terrible, and it needs to change, yet this government has shown no understanding and no willingness to do this.

If I can mention, very quickly, one last thing—our foreign aid budget has been cut, leading to significant changes in some of the most disadvantaged countries in our neighbourhood, yet this government has shown no inclination to improve it. (Time expired)

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