Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Our health system's in crisis, and it's actually crumbling under the weight of government neglect. It's underfunded, it's under-resourced and it's overworked. Around a decade ago, the then LNP government cut bulk-billing payments for pathology and diagnostic imaging as part of their infamous Medicare co-payment reforms, a widely unpopular policy from the then health minister, now the Leader of the Opposition, that forced families to pay more for essential care. And for 24 years both Labor and the Liberals have failed to index Medicare rebates for pathology. Rebates haven't increased since 1999, even as costs have absolutely skyrocketed. Pathology clinics are telling us they just can no longer afford to provide bulk-billed tests at the current rebate rates. We've seen what happens when Medicare rebates fail to keep up with the cost of care. GP bulk-billing rates have plummeted and patients are being forced to pay that price. Add the cost-of-living crisis, and Australians simply cannot afford to see the doctor, the dentist or a mental health professional.

The bill before us today, the Health Insurance (Pathology) (Fees) (Repeal) Bill 2024, will make pathology cheaper—as it should be, because Medicare is broken in Australia. We don't have a universal healthcare system. Instead, we have thousands of Australians choosing between paying their rent and seeing a dentist or a psychologist. Almost 40 per cent of young Australians experienced a mental disorder in this last year. Almost a quarter of people who need mental health support are delaying or just not seeing a psychologist because of the cost. Forty per cent of Australians avoid the dentist because it costs too much. That is hundreds of thousands of people suffering. The major parties tell you that putting mental and dental health coverage in Medicare costs too much. They cry poor about funding the things that Australians need to be healthy—to actually live a good life. Miraculously, they have the funding to spend billions on fossil fuel subsidies and tax handouts to property developers. That's a rip-off. It shouldn't be this hard to make the health and wellbeing of Australians an absolute priority for Australia. Just bring mental and dental cover into Medicare; make it affordable and accessible for everyone.

The same will happen with pathology if the government continues to merely tinker around the edges of healthcare reform. The Labor government has promised that some pathology items will be indexed, but that doesn't start for another year—a year too late. And the majority of the tests, including some of the most commonly provided ones, won't even be included. This bill goes a small way to relieving administration costs. Really, the government should do more right now, because accessible pathology tests are vital to the functioning of our healthcare system and to Australians' health. Thank you.

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