Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) bulk-billing options are plummeting across the country and millions of people are delaying health care due to cost concerns;

(b) the cost of living crisis is both making mental health worse and causing an increasing number of people across Australia to delay or miss out on essential mental health care;

(c) over 60 per cent of Australians have delayed dental care in the last year, and the most common reason for doing so was cost; and

(d) everyone deserves to have access to good quality health care, including dental and mental health care, regardless of where you live, how old you are, or your bank balance; and

(2) calls on the Government to commit to universal health care and make the big corporations pay their fair share of tax so as to fund:

(a) bringing dental health into Medicare and expanding access to dental care to all;

(b) unlimited mental health care under Medicare; and

(c) a tripling of the bulk-billing incentive and the establishment of at least six free local health care clinics in each electorate to enable all Australians to go to the GP for free.

Back in 2013, I was living in the United States in Florida, working for a little company called Disney. I had an experience there that really set me up for getting into politics for the rest of my life. I'd never really been that interested in politics growing up. I'm not from a political family per se. But one day I walked into the stockroom at where I was working and one of my co-workers was on the floor in literal tears. Obviously, as any normal person would do, I went up to her and asked: 'What's wrong? What's happened?' She was having to make the decision about whether she paid her rent or paid for her insulin. I remember in that moment thinking: 'I don't understand how this has happened. I don't understand how we can be working for this giant billion- or trillion-dollar company, getting paid $7 an hour, and you've been put in this position where you have to decide between fundamental health care or fundamental housing.' It's an impossible decision. We were able to rally around and raise some money for her, but I kept thinking that that was only going to help her for one month. It wasn't actually going to change the system that we were living in, where she had been put into that position.

We hear all these horror stories that come out of the United States about their healthcare system, and we just cannot go down that same path. Having lived it and having seen people that have lived it and been at the brutal end of that system—we cannot do that. We have to turn the ship around now before we head down that path, because universal health care is vital to Australia. Everyone deserves to have access to quality health care, including dental care and mental health care, regardless of where you live, how old you are or whatever your bank balance may be.

A properly funded universal healthcare system actually saves us money in the long run. It reduces poverty, creates jobs, drives economic growth and helps to alleviate inequality. But our healthcare system, as it stands, is starting to falter. At the same time, nearly one in three large corporations operating in Australia pay no income tax. Large corporations are able to use various offsets to be able to pay no tax while everyday Australians can't afford to go to the doctor. The system is fundamentally broken, and we are all living it.

Bulk-billing options are plummeting around the country. Most people with a Medicare card are unable to find a bulk-billing appointment like they used to. In my electorate of Brisbane, only a few per cent of clinics still offer bulk-billing at all, and, what's more is that finding bulk-billing appointments outside of general working hours has become almost impossible. What this means is people skipping regular health appointments, prioritising their kids' health over their own, not following up on test results or avoiding care altogether because going to the doctor has become too expensive. People are waiting until issues become critical and then presenting to emergency rooms. Those healthcare horror stories that we all judge the United States for are well on their way to becoming a reality here, so what we need to do is triple the bulk-billing incentive for everyone with a Medicare card and establish at least six free local healthcare clinics in each electorate to enable all Australians to go to the GP for free.

According to a recent Black Dog Institute poll, the leading reason for Australians delaying or not seeking mental health care is the cost. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, young adults are being impacted the most. Sixty 60 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 reported that they couldn't afford to get the help they needed—more than across any other age group. In order to access mental healthcare sessions through Medicare, you need a mental healthcare plan through a GP. After the pandemic, these subsidised sessions were cut from 20 to 10 per year. That's just the subsidy; it rarely covers the full cost. Like GP visits, it has become incredibly difficult to access sessions without a gap payment. There are also extra hoops to jump through to access the final four sessions. For example, you need another GP referral, which is going to cost you more and more money. When it comes to mental health care in this country, for every person receiving treatment, at least one person is going without. We have to bring mental health care fully under Medicare.

Finally, everyone should be able to go to the dentist when they need help. Millions of Austrians are putting off going to the dentist because they can't afford it. This doesn't just lead to worse teeth; a range of other health concerns also come from that. The first thing I did after being elected to this place was go back to the dentist to get some fillings done, because I couldn't afford them while I was working in my retail job. Because I had left it so long, fillings became root canals and became exponentially more expensive. You shouldn't have to become a politician just to be able to afford to get your teeth fixed. Having healthy teeth should not be a luxury. Everyone should be able to use their Medicare card to go to the dentist. We have to bring mental health care and dental care fully into Medicare.

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