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

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister's previous answer. Is it seriously the position of the government that the Prime Minister's credibility on Medicare was unharmed by the freeze on Medicare rebates, unharmed by cuts to pathology and unharmed by plans to make all Australians, even pensioners, pay more for medicines—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

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

but could not withstand a text message?

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

The member for Ballarat will resume her seat for a second. There were a number of interjections on my right. I heard the member for Corangamite. It prevented me from hearing all of the question. I want to hear the question again from the beginning.

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

My question is to the Prime Minister and I refer to the Prime Minister's previous answer. Is it seriously the contention of the government that the Prime Minister's credibility on Medicare was unharmed by your Medicare freeze, unharmed by your cuts to pathology and unharmed by your plans to make Australians, even pensioners, pay more for medicines but could not withstand a text message?

Government members interjecting—

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

Before I call the Prime Minister—

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

Mr Speaker—

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

The member for Ballarat will resume her seat.

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

I ask that you ask the health minister to withdraw that unparliamentary remark.

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

Did the health minister use an unparliamentary term?

Ms Ley interjecting—

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

You can't tell the truth about that even.

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

When there is a wall of interjections, including now from the member for Ballarat, you will understand that it places the minister for health in the same position as the member for McEwen yesterday, so I will not have any innuendo. The Prime Minister does have the call. The question is just in order. It is mostly preamble, but it is just in order.

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

I thank the honourable member for her question. What she is asking is whether the dishonest text message had any effect, so she is like somebody who is charged with or sued for misrepresentation, for telling a falsehood and for misleading somebody, and whose defence is not that the statement was accurate, not that it did not mislead, but that it did not have any effect. That is basically her defence. How low have the Labor Party sunk? They think it is a joke to send to older vulnerable Australians millions of text messages that appeared to come from Medicare. They were designed and calculated to mislead.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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

The member for Moreton will leave under standing order 94(a). It is completely disorderly.

The member for Moreton then left the chamber.

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

She asked me whether I think those misleading, dishonest, deliberately exploitative text messages—this shocking exercise in deceit—had an effect or not. I will answer the honourable member. I believe they did. I think all of us know many Australians who were frightened out of their wits by those text messages, who were frightened and misled. We have all heard stories of people in old people's homes, of older Australians—

Opposition members interjecting—

The Labor Party scoffs.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Members on my left! The member for Gorton is warned.

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

This is remarkable. The opposition, an alternative government, so little respect the truth that they believe it is a joke to lie to millions of vulnerable Australians.

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

The member for Lilley!

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

They are proud of their deceit.

Mr Swan interjecting—

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

The member for Lilley will cease interjecting. The Prime Minister will resume his seat for a second. There are far too many interjections. I have asked the member for Lilley to cease interjecting three times. I would believe him if he said he did not hear me, but I have ceased proceedings, so he is in no doubt. The Prime Minister has the call.

Opposition members interjecting—

The member for Sydney is warned! The Prime Minister has the call.

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

The opposition leader asked me, 'How's the AFP going?' He knows very well what the AFP concluded—that, while there is a very serious criminal offence of impersonating a federal officer—

Opposition members interjecting—

There is—five years in jail actually. There is apparently a loophole in the law which the Labor Party managed to sail through. That loophole will be plugged. In the meantime, while Labor revels in the success of its deceit, we get on with the job of investing, defending and ensuring that Medicare and public health services continue to improve, that lifesaving drugs are made available and that Australians' enviable health services continue to be the best in the world. (Time expired)