Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to raise my concerns about the future of bulk billing and GP visits in the Bendigo electorate. Under the Howard government bulk billing in the Bendigo electorate fell to as low as 49.9 per cent in 2003. Under the former Labor government this rate went back up to 74.6 per cent. However, despite the increase in GP bulk billing rates in the Bendigo electorate, it still ranks 99th out of 150 electorates.

This is despite the fact that 30 per cent of Bendigo households live on less than $600 a week. They do not have the budget to continue to fork out for out-of-pocket medical expenses. That is why it is so important for us to have a high bulk billing rate. It is also why the proposed GP tax of $6 would be disastrous for Bendigo households. If this tax were levied on the number of GP visits we had last year, that would result in the government taking $4.5 million out of the pockets of Bendigo households. The government needs to back off Bendigo households, because our budgets are tight and we cannot afford another tax.