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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister stand by his promise that he made the day before the election that no Australian will pay more to see a doctor because of his six-year Medicare freeze?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The honourable member knows very well that the Medicare freeze is not, as he said, 'your Medicare freeze'. It is his Medicare freeze. It is the Labor Party's Medicare freeze. They froze it. It was a Labor government decision to freeze the Medicare schedule, and it has been continued. The consequence of unfreezing the freeze and allowing indexation to continue would, as the Minister for Health and I pointed out in the course of the campaign, result in an increase of 60c, was it?

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

Something like that.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Something around 60c. We had the Labor Party and various other people in the debate claiming that by not unfreezing the indexation and denying, say, 60c that would justify an increase in charges by $10 or $15 or $25. It was ludicrous. The reality is that the indexation freeze was introduced by Labor as a cost measure. It has been maintained by us for precisely the same reason. What we have been able to do is to bring one new drug after another, one new life-saving drug after another, onto the PBS. We have been able to use the scarce resources available—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

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

On direct relevance—the Prime Minister is being asked whether he stood by an election promise.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister is in order.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The bottom line is this. That we are living here in Australia, in this parliament and in this government, with scarce resources. What we need to do is to ensure that we live within our means and that we deploy the taxpayers' funds available to us to achieve the best health outcome for all Australians. That is what we are doing—constantly investing, constantly improving, defending Medicare and standing up for our public health system.

The Labor Party on the other hand peddled the most outrageous lies in the election campaign.

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Oh, yes, they laugh. Oh look, it is so funny. Oh a Queen's Counsel. Think of that one of her Majesty's counsel, learned in the law, the member for Isaacs thinks telling lies is funny. That is what he said. He thinks it is so funny.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will not reflect on members.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That tells you a lot—all you need to know—about what has befallen the Australian Labor Party.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the next question I will remind all members and the Prime Minister that the standing orders prohibit reflections on members.