Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

In fact, what we have done is: we have moved medicines forward at a faster rate than was the case under the previous government. Most significantly, let me give you the examples of Spinraza and Orkambi. Spinraza, for spinal muscular atrophy, was listed within weeks of the PBAC approving it. Why did that happen? That happened because of this Prime Minister, who, in his previous role as Treasurer, worked very closely with me, the health department and others, to ensure that we brought forward a life-saving medicine which would otherwise have been over $300,000 per year. In addition to that, Orkambi, again, was listed within weeks of the PBAC announcing it, but with immediate compassionate access.

So what we are doing now, on our watch, in our time, is ensuring that not only are all of the medicines of the PBAC listed—and it's a sore and sensitive point, because they have been caught out, and the people who now want to be the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia were the ones who deferred the listings of medicines when they were in government and took an axe to private health insurance, so we know they are hurting. But, more than that, we'll continue to do this, and we'll take pride in doing this, because it is one of the most important and significant things that we will do on our watch, in our time: fix up the mess that they made last time because they couldn't manage the economy. And, if you can't manage the economy, you can't manage health.

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