Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I take on board the member for Moreton's comments in relation to Medicare. Once again, he's fallen into the trap of blaming the coalition for all the ills of the nation whilst praising the Labor government. I stand at the dispatch box and say that Medicare is a good system. I stand at the dispatch box and say that we have the very best health system in the world, and we should be proud of that. If you don't believe me, go anywhere else in the world and see for yourself the sort of health system they have in place in the country you are visiting. Thank your lucky stars that you can return to Australia, that you live in Australia and that you have governments—plural—of all political persuasions that have pumped money into Medicare and into the health system.

We just heard from the member for Moreton. This is the member who, when speaking about infrastructure, questioned why, if a road hadn't been sealed for 70 years, you would seal it now. I recommend that he read Clare Armstrong's report in the Daily Telegraph today about the crisis in health care at the moment, particularly in remote Australia. I know those opposite are very much pushing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice and the Uluru Statement from the Heart. They would do well to read not just the report but also Ms Armstrong's op-ed and the editorial in the Daily Telegraph, the Sydney newspaper, today.

In the editorial they talk about the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which is, indeed, financially supported by the Daily Telegraph as part of the groundbreaking Bush Summit. I know they've held several of those and found that almost 45,000 people in remote Australia have no access to any type of primary healthcare service within a one-hour drive, as recommended by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. I know a lot of people choose to live in remote Australia. Many of those people who live in remote areas have to do so because they are providing the food and fibre for this nation.

I know—and, Deputy Speaker Freelander, I know you also know this well—that the head of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Trent Twomey, has made comments in recent days and weeks about the health system. Whilst I acknowledge that the health system is exceptional, there are things that we can change. There are things that we certainly can improve and need to improve. Mr Twomey said:

… the COVID-19 pandemic—during which pharmacists helped with the vaccine rollout—

Indeed, they did, and I thank them for that—

had shifted power and made decision-makers more likely to listen to the guild's proposals to improve the health system. The Pharmacy Guild represents about 5900 community pharmacy owners.

Mr Twomey was quoted as saying:

"The point I'm saying is, the hospital system is under strain, and other elements of primary care are under strain ... Money is not the solution to system reform," he said.

Twomey said the only solution to Australia's health crisis was "fully utilising all health practitioners to their full scope". "Nurses, yes. Dentists, yes. Pharmacists as well," he said.

I agree with him on that point. I know the role that chemists play in rural areas, particularly when, in some of those very small country towns, they are the only primary healthcare deliverer because—as the member for Forrest just pointed out—there is a lack of general practitioners.

Coming from a regional area, I know how important this is. There needs to be a balance. We need to strike the right balance. That is why I'm very pleased that my home town, Wagga Wagga, which is the head of a very large Murrumbidgee Valley healthcare provider, is looking after a quarter of a million people through the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.

In 2020 the then federal regional health minister, the member for Parkes, put in place a new model to boost access to GPs in our region and make rural generalist training more attractive for young doctors. The model, which was launched on 12 October 2020 in Wagga Wagga, gives junior doctors interested in working in rural general practice in the Murrumbidgee region the experience, exposure and qualifications they need to become rural generalist doctors: GPs with additional skills such as obstetrics or emergency medicine. I know that, coupled with the Murray-Darling medical school that I put in place, is going to make a real difference to get GPs in country areas. They can work with chemists. They can indeed work through the Medicare system.

I will repeat my comment from the outset of this speech: we have the best medical system in all of Australia and we can improve upon it.

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