Stewart McArthur (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Would the minister advise the House of measures that the government is taking to boost doctor numbers, particularly in rural and regional Australia?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I thank the member for Corangamite for his question and acknowledge his very hard work lobbying for a new medical school at Deakin University, and I also acknowledge your own hard work in this regard. The government recently announced that there would be an additional 160 medical school places in Victoria, that Deakin would receive $18 million towards its new medical school and that Monash would receive some $5 million towards extending its existing medical school into the Gippsland. I can point out that, already, since 2000, the government has increased medical school places by 30 per cent, and about one-third of existing medical students are bonded to spend at least six years in country areas after they qualify. Since 2000, the government has created 11 rural clinical schools and 10 university departments of rural health. Currently, some 2,000 doctors receive an annual bonus of up to $25,000 a year for working in the country. The government has recently doubled to up to $15,000 the bonus that country GPs receive if they maintain skills in obstetrics and anaesthesia.

There is obviously more to do here, but I can report that, since 1996, while city doctor numbers in full-time equivalent terms have increased by three per cent, GP numbers in country areas, in equivalent full-time terms, have increased by 24 per cent. As I said, there is more to be done, but I think all this demonstrates that the Howard government is determined to remain the best friend that Medicare has ever had.