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

Labor is the party of Medicare. We created it and we will fight to the death to protect it. But on the other side, there has been equal and opposite vehemence against public investment in health. In 1975, the Whitlam government made the historic introduction of universal health care to ensure that your access to health care was never to be determined by your postcode or your bank account. Since then, whenever we've had a coalition government in power, the principle of universal health care has always been under siege.

The Fraser government axed Medibank in 1981, only to have it restored as Medicare by the Hawke Labor government. Then opposition leader John Howard went to the 1987 election promising to continue the Liberals' attacks and a return to the user-pay system, only to be cowed into submission by the clear message that voters sent. However, the next Liberal government, the Abbott government, returned to form with the ongoing Medicare freeze and any number of short-sighted plans to impose a co-payment on patients. The next Prime Minister was Malcolm Turnbull, who removed incentives for bulk-billing in pathology and radiology. And he continued the Medicare freeze on top of $57 million worth of cuts to hospitals, which brings us to today.

The Morrison government, like every other Liberal government that preceded it, is no friend of Medicare. Indeed, Scott Morrison decided to kick off 2020 with a fresh round of cuts to Medicare's bulk-billing. Newcastle is one of the 14 areas he has targeted. The government encourages GPs to bulk-bill vulnerable patients by paying them for each time they bulk-bill. It's called a bulk-billing incentive payment. In my home city, of Newcastle, and in the neighbouring towns of Maitland and Kurri Kurri, Scott Morrison has slashed this payment, which is estimated to cost our region as much as $7 million.

I have met with a number of local GPs and Hunter primary care representatives to discuss the impacts of these cuts. They warned me that some GPs will have to stop bulk-billing children, pensioners and other concession payments, or close their doors entirely. I have also received extensive correspondence from my constituents, and I'd like to put some of their concerns on the record today. Firstly, I heard from Dr W, who, as a GP, knows better than most just how damaging these cuts will be. In her email to me, Dr W summed up the problem perfectly when she said:

Having access to primary care without cost to a patient who would otherwise be unable to afford care is one of the pillars of a sound and well-functioning health system. This aspect of the rural health strategy is robbing Peter to pay Paul, at a time when General Practice is already under substantial funding pressures.

These sentiments were echoed by Dr G, who said:

Our business is a local employer, and provides a vital function to the community. We also ease the congestion experienced at our hospitals by providing the first line triage. This latest change will significantly reduce our capacity to perform this role as we will have to reduce our staff numbers to keep the doors open.

Or there was Mr C from New Lambton, who also wrote to me to say:

There will be new sneaky cuts to Doctors in 2020 that will in effect, cut most if not all Bulk Billing in the Hunter and Newcastle areas. Surely this is about an attack on the Medicare system to reduce it bit by bit, and finally achieve what they set out to do a few years back.

I hope that you and the Labor Party can do something to stop these cuts along with keeping the Liberal Party to account.

Well, Mr C, I will do my absolute best. I have written to the minister about this on many occasions. I have repeatedly urged him to reverse this damaging change and to stop disadvantaging my community.

Soon, I will launch a broader community campaign against these cuts. In the meantime, I've set up a petition on my website, and I encourage anyone who is concerned about the Liberals' ongoing attacks on Medicare to register their opposition by signing it. Labor will always fight to protect vulnerable Australians and will always fight to protect Medicare.

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