Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like my fellow members who have spoken before me, I am proud to stand in this place as a member of the Labor Party to defend the Australian healthcare system from this Liberal-National government. We are the party of Medicare and we always will be. Unlike the rabble on the other side of the chamber, who attack Medicare and who fail to care for our public health system, you can rest assured that the Labor Party always will care for our public health system. Make no mistake, our healthcare system is under attack. Every day, more and more Australians are feeling the pain as they continue to take out their wallets again and again to cover the increasing costs of keeping themselves healthy, fit and active.

This government, despite the Prime Minister's insistence on using a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer, is smashing the institutions that have become the bedrock of the high living standards that we are fortunate enough to enjoy in this country. Let us go through some of the issues the Turnbull government has failed to address. The out-of-pocket costs to see a GP have never been higher. Since the Liberals came to power in 2013, and until last year, Australians have seen out-of-pocket costs soar from over $28 per visit in 2013 to over $35 in 2017. That's a lift of over $7, and that's still rising. In WA alone, costs have increased from nearly $31 in 2013 to nearly $38 in 2017. Some may scoff—'What's $7, anyway?' Tell that to some of the elderly residents in my electorate. They need constant care and check-ups, on a tiny pension that barely covers rent, electricity and all of their medical fees. Tell that to single parents on Newstart or disability support who are trying to care for their sick children at the same time as putting them through school. This government has no plan and it simply cannot be trusted on health and health care.

Australians needing elective surgery have had their waiting list times blown out. Emergency departments and hospitals around the country are bursting at the seams and health professionals are stretched to do more and more with less and less because of the Liberals cuts and their empty promises. If you need more proof, let's take a look at Medicare. The Prime Minister is still yet to remove a single part of his Medicare freeze. Rebates for GPs, specialists and allied health services all remain frozen. We are told that the freeze will be lifted in 2020—well, I certainly wouldn't hold my breath on that. As a result of the continued freeze, the Prime Minister is using a chainsaw to cut $2.2 billion out of Medicare on top of the savings he has already listed. This is a collective $2.2 billion out of the pockets of patients every time they visit a GP, visit a specialist or receive a Medicare allied health service. I, too, heard the rural doctors today tell members, many of us in the House from this side of parliament and from the other, how failing to lift the GP Medicare freeze has greatly affected access to basic healthcare in rural areas—and we have the Nationals here, who pretend to care for those in regional and remote areas.

Let's look at the Liberals' record on private health for a moment. Let's face it, everyone in this place and around the rest of the country knows that this government would rather protect the profits and corporate interests of the private health insurers rather than going in to bat for Australian consumers. They'd rather protect the $1.8 billion of pretax profit for private health insurers than help Australian consumers. The Public Health Association of Australia have said as much:

Scare tactics by the Private Health Insurance industry … should not be surprising. However, they should be rejected out-of-hand. The focus of this industry is on profits and return to shareholders rather than the health of all Australians …

I think that sums up this government's position. Premiums are on the rise. Since the end of 2013, when the Liberals were elected, premiums have risen a whopping 27 per cent, including the rise that's due this year, adding up to an average increase of $1,000 to the private health bill of Australian families.

Just as this government fails to do anything about housing affordability, they are making the same mistakes with private health. I will reflect on health for a moment. We all know that housing is critical to health. At a time when we reflect, all of this week and last week, on our collective failure at closing the gap between our first nation people, and also reflect on the health effects that the stolen generation have suffered, this government has cut funding to the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing.

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