Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Hansard source

Those of us who live in the bush wouldn't live anywhere else. But the fact is that, if you live in regional, rural or remote Australia, you are likely to be older, sicker and have poorer health outcomes than your city cousins. Access to an adequate healthcare workforce and the services that that brings remains one of the greatest challenges in regional communities today.

One thing that people from the bush generally have in common is that we're a pretty pragmatic bunch. We judge people on what they do rather than what they say. So, if the Minister for Health, Mark Butler, says that the critical shortages of GP graduates in Australia is 'terrifying', we expect that, at the same time, he will offer up solutions to address this issue. Regrettably, the Albanese government's recent budget does not contain a single initiative that responds to the workforce crisis being experienced by rural, regional and remote Australians. Again, Labor is proving to be all talk rather than action.

The government's Jobs and Skills Summit was meant to address this issue, but all it delivered was another talkfest that failed to deliver any real plans. Therefore, I ask the minister: what tangible action is being taken right now to address the real and significant GP workforce shortages, particularly in rural, regional and remote Australia? The only initiative delivered to date has been the expansion of the Distribution Priority Area, DPA, classifications for overseas trained doctors, and that has only managed to make the workforce shortage issues worse.

Historically, the DPA classification has been crucial in addressing GP workforce shortages in the bush. Regrettably, the Albanese government has continued to rub salt into the wounds of rural communities by announcing in the budget that they will expand the DPAs for a further 12 months. This means that rural and regional communities will continue to compete with larger towns and outer-city suburbs for doctors. It makes no sense whatsoever that the remote town of Smithton in my electorate must compete with greater Hobart for doctors because they are both classified as rural.

When asked in Senate estimates if the Albanese government had consulted with rural and regional communities before deciding to expand the DPA classification, Assistant Minister McCarthy confirmed that she was 'not aware of any consultation'. Therefore, Minister, I ask: did the government consult with rural and regional communities prior to the decision to expand DPA classifications, and is the government aware of how many GPs have been lost to rural and regional communities since the initial decision was made?

The aged-care workforce also has critical workforce issues. In spite of this, the Albanese government has brought forward the Fair Work Commission's time line for the implementation of 24/7 registered nurses in aged-care homes. This decision has been taken without providing any immediate support measures to train the registered nurses in the sector. So, Minister, I ask: why was this not represented in the budget? The support provided to address the critical workforce issues experienced in the country will not even scratch the surface. In the minister 's own words:

Without workers, the discussions of care minutes, of improved systems, of returning security and dignity to aged care means little…

Minister, does this mean that the Albanese government's aged-care package requiring 24/7 registered nurses in aged-care homes means little, since they are not supporting the training and introduction of additional registered nurses in the sector? It's all well and good to support aged-care facilities and expect them to afford to meet the 24/7 registered nurse requirement, but there is no point in providing that support if facilities do not have access to the additional workforce to hire these additional nurses in the first place.

When you look at the $2.5 billion aged-care package line by line, it confirms what we already know, and that is that the Albanese government is strong on the headline announcement and it is rather missing out on the detail and the outcome. Finally, Minister, I ask: why is there not a single measure included in the budget to bolster the RN workforce? There are five questions.

See this speech in context