Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister explain why Medicare's hotline right now is advising: 'From 1 July 2015 a patient contribution of $7 will be introduced.' Is this Prime Minister so arrogant that his government is telling people that they will have to pay his GP tax when it hasn't even passed the parliament? When will the Prime Minister finally wake up to himself and realise that Australians don't want your rotten GP tax?

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

It is the government's intention that there will be a GP co-payment from the middle of 2015. This is the government's intention. It is also the government's intention that we will put the legislation into the parliament and we expect that, after appropriate consideration, the parliament will understand that Labor's debt and deficit disaster has to be brought under control and that we need to make Medicare sustainable for the long term. That is what this co-payment is all about—it is about making Medicare sustainable for the long term.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on a point of order: the Prime Minister is now claiming it is going to the bottom line when the Treasurer is saying it is going to a research fund.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

As members opposite in their hearts know, a modest co-payment is perfectly appropriate and sensible policy.

Ms King interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat will desist.

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

It was members opposite in government under Bob Hawke that brought in a PBS co-payment. If it is perfectly right and proper to have a PBS co-payment, it is perfectly right and proper to have a modest Medicare co-payment. Let me just remind members opposite of what the then health minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Brian Howe, said back in 1991 when introducing a GP co-payment: 'The measures being introduced in this budget relate to the preliminary findings of the national health strategy. They are the first steps in dealing with the structural problems in the healthcare system.' He said this strategy outlined as a priority for reform, 'the judicious use of price signals to encourage both doctors and patients to be more selective in their use of medical services'. Who ran the national health strategy?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did.

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

So not only do we have Bob Hawke as the father of the co-payment, we have got the member for Jagajaga as the mother of the co-payment. The real authors of the co-payment are over there.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The member for Jagajaga on a point of order—it had better be a proper one.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It had better be a proper one, Madam Speaker. The Prime Minister should not mislead the parliament. I opposed the co-payment.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the Prime Minister, I would say to the member for Jagajaga: there is no point of order and you know well that you may not say 'misleading' when there are proper forms of the House to deal with those questions.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I may use that one too—

Mr Morrison interjecting—

and I will ask the minister for immigration to withdraw his parliamentary remark.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call.

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

Just to remind the member for Jagajaga, the 'judicious use of price signals to encourage both doctors and patients to be more selective in their use of medical services' was part of the national health strategy, which the member opposite helped to author.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don't mislead the parliament!

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga will desist.