Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Health. I remind the Minister for Health that a Medicare co-payment was introduced in 1991 by the Hawke government, and I ask: is the minister aware of advice received by the Hawke government at the time, and is that advice still relevant to the challenges faced by the health system today?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Casey for his question. The problem in the 1990s with Medicare, as Prime Minister Hawke pointed out, was that it was unsustainable without a co-payment, and that is why Labor supported a co-payment when it came to our medicine scheme. We have a co-payment there to make our medicine system sustainable and we are arguing, as Bob Hawke did then, that we need a co-payment to make our system sustainable going forward. I want to get a better understanding of why there was common sense in the Labor Party then, but there is not now except of course for the member for Fraser, who is supportive of a co-payment as well, but I will come back to him in a second.

Mr Husic interjecting—

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

I would remind the member for Chifley that he is warned. Once more and he is gone.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why would the Labor Party be so sound in their policy thinking, why would they want to support a sustainable Medicare system in the 1990s but in 2014 the Leader of the Opposition is opportunistic and does not want to support a sustainable Medicare? Obviously it is because of the people that were around at the time. I looked to the then Minister for Health, Brian Howe. He had to say this in 1991 when the Labor Party believed in something and they produced a co-payment to keep any care sustainable. He said:

It was to enact a number of changes designed to ensure that Medicare remains a sustainable, equitable and efficient universal health insurance system.

They were wise words from the then Labor health minister. But where would he have got his advice? I had a look at some of the comments that he had to make and he said at the time:

The measures being introduced in this budget related to the preliminary findings of the National Health Strategy.

The 'National Health Strategy'? I thought: who put that piece of work together? Who put those wise words together? If you have a look at the member for Jagajaga's website, she is happy to skite that:

Prior to entering parliament, Jenny was the director of two major strategic reviews reporting to Brian Howe, including the National Health Strategy.

I thought: let me seek further confirmation.

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

The minister will resume his seat. The member for Ballarat on a point of order?

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

Thank you. The first point of order is obviously he needs to refer to members by their name—

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

It better be a proper one, because you have been warned.

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

I know you are having trouble selling your policy and you have been told to trot it out, but is this the best you can do?

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

I advised the chamber that the next person who abused the standing orders would remove themselves under 94(a). The member for Ballarat will remove herself for one hour.

The member for Ballarat then left the chamber.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All I ask is that Jenny Macklin, as she then was, who is described as the director of this particular body that advised Brian Howe. It says, 'For further information about the advice …'—to the then government—'in relation to the co-payment, contact Jenny Macklin, the director of the National Health Strategy.' All I ask is that common sense prevails in the modern Labor Party. If Jenny Macklin was the mother of the co-payment and Bob Hawke was the father of the co-payment then the political love child of the co-payment should stand up and in this place again commend the co-payment so that we can make Medicare sustainable into the future.