Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister believe there is overservicing in general practice and that Australians are going to their GP too often?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think that the average Australian GP does a very good job, often under difficult circumstances, and we want to support general practice. I have had a bit of experience in this area of health. I have to say that the general practitioners of this country are absolutely the backbone of our system, because, apart from the individual himself or herself, the one person in the whole of the system who invests the time, energy and effort in managing an individual's health is that person's GP. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the GPs of Australia and we will do what we can to make their job easier, not harder.

The only people who really made life hard for the GPs of Australia in recent times, funnily enough, were members opposite. Let us not forget that the former minister for health, sitting over there as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, looking a little bit embarrassed, is the person who let the MYEFO at the end of 2012 cut $1.6 billion out of health. Shame, shame, shame!