Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. I rise today to support the Health Insurance Amendment (Continuing the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner) Bill 2020, which amends the Health Insurance Act 1973 to continue the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner. I want to commend the hard work of the minister for regional health, Mark Coulton; and the Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, for this great outcome.

Health care impacts every person, regardless of where they live; however, we know that Australians living in the regions have less access to quality health care. In short, there is a lack of equity in healthcare provision. Valuable regional healthcare reform must address the unique problems and challenges that arise in these settings.

My electorate of Mallee is home to over 150,000 people and covers an area just shy of 82,000 square kilometres. The size of the electorate represents 36 per cent of Victoria, making it the largest in the state. Despite its size, population and economic significance to the state and nation, the Mallee is plagued by issues related to the provision of health services. Issues like those faced in Mallee are becoming exceedingly common across regional and rural Australia.

There is a significant maldistribution of health professionals between metropolitan and regional areas, especially with regard to general practitioners. The GP-to-population ratio in the Mallee is appallingly low compared to cities. The doctor-to-patient ratio in Melbourne is one GP to approximately 900 people, compared to the Mildura region where that ratio is one doctor to 3,700 people. In the Swan Hill region, it is over 6,200 people per doctor. In the Horsham region, it is over 3,400 people per doctor. This disparity highlights the inequity between regional and metropolitan areas and represents the significant workforce shortages plaguing the Mallee. Workforce shortages are exacerbated by an ageing cohort of GPs, of which one is my husband, and the difficulties in attracting new GPs to regional areas.

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