Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. The electorate of Chifley, which I represent, has the highest level of bulk-billing for GP visits in the country. Yesterday, the minister said, 'At the moment, bulk-billing rates are too high.' What bulk-billing rate does the minister think is ideal: 50 per cent, 40 per cent or 30 per cent?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to take a question from my friend the member for Chifley. Just to make sure that there is no further confusion on the side of the Labor Party, which is having trouble following, the co-payment, as the Prime Minister announced yesterday, is dead. I repeat: the GP co-payment is dead. In the context of further consultations, the bulk-billing rate is important, but, Member for Chifley, it might be that every single bulk-billed person that you mention should continue to be bulk-billed, because I am aware that you represent a fairly disadvantaged electorate—not everybody, but your indicators of disadvantage are higher than for some of your surrounding suburbs. That means that, when we look at policy, we need to make sure that the disadvantaged constituents that you represent, those on concession cards, are bulk-billed. We need to make sure that we protect bulk-billing for the vulnerable, but we also need to make sure, without picking on electorates or individuals, that those of us who represent areas where incomes are higher and capacity to pay is higher should make sure that policy reflects that those with the ability to pay a modest contribution towards their visits to the doctor continue to do that.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The members of Jagajaga and McMahon will desist. The Minister for Health has the call, and we will have silence to hear her answer.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Chifley, I was in your part of the world with my friend the member for Reid, recently, and we met with doctors, patients and practitioners. We had a clear message about working with us to solve the problems with a Medicare system that is rapidly becoming unsustainable.

I was listing Labor's failures in health, before, and I would like to have an opportunity to resume my listing of Labor's failures. It is important that the parliament knows what they are. I have yet to get to the supreme, epic fail of Labor.

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

Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order on relevance. Rarely does a minister flag that they are about to be not relevant. The minister having done so, I ask that you bring the minister back to the question.

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

The question was fairly wide ranging. So long as the answer is still addressing the question concerning the level of bulk-billing, the minister is in order.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My intervention is perfectly relevant. Labor's failures in health are one of the reasons why we are so constrained at the moment. Labor's failure with the budget and debt and deficit are one of the reasons why in making every single health dollar work as hard as it can we are facing the constraints we are. I was talking about the preventative health agency, which came up with a fat tax, that talked about preventative health but actually did not produce any real outcomes—

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

The minister needs to come back to bulk-billing.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was another area that Labor inserted itself into, around hospital waiting lists. That would have been okay if it had improved the hospital waiting lists. (Time expired)