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

To quote our current Prime Minister: 'We will be a no surprises, no excuses government. We are about reducing taxes, not increasing taxes. We are about getting rid of taxes, not imposing new taxes.' Yet tonight the Prime Minister is going to introduce a GP tax ending bulk-billing in this country and ending universal access to Medicare. I will be delighted to see those proud members opposite ending universal access, ending Medicare!

At no stage did this Prime Minister say to the electorate before the election that he would introduce a GP tax every time you go to visit a doctor, that it was part of this government's plan to end Medicare. It is lazy policy, policy that will deter people from seeking the health care that they need. It would mean that your credit card would be more important than your Medicare card. It will lead to greater complications, poorer health outcomes, increasing hospitalisation and increasing emergency department presentations, costing taxpayers and patients much more in out-of-pocket expenses for their health. The only people advocating this are the Abbott government, the Commission of Audit and one of the Abbott government's previous advisers. The Australian Medical Association, the College of General Practitioners, the Public Health Association and the Consumer's Health Forum all know this is dumb policy. Why doesn't the government?