David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister outline to the House how the government is taking action to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme and guarantee Medicare? Is the minister aware of any threats to these important services that Australians rely on?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Banks. Only last week I was able to join him in his electorate and visit a number of local practices. We visited the Brigadoon Medical Centre, a GP practice in Revesby, and also the Narwee Family Care Pharmacy. In both of those practices we were able to talk about the guarantee that the government has given to Medicare and the guarantee of support for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme through the agreements with the GPs, the AMA, Medicines Australia and the Pharmacy Guild—something of profound importance to each of those practices and of course to all of those who attend and benefit from their tremendous services to the community.

One of the other things that we talked about was the importance of guaranteeing the NDIS. I have to say that we were delighted by the support on the ground in the electorate of Banks for the government's commitment to fully and finally support the NDIS—something which never occurred under the previous government. When it was announced in the speech which was referred to previously by others, and by the Treasurer in particular, by then Prime Minister Gillard, she noted that 55 per cent of the NDIS—and that was all—was funded by the levy.

What we have done in this budget is guarantee for the first time full funding for the NDIS. And do you know what? It is the right thing to do. We did it because it was the right thing to do, and we actually thought they would agree with us. It was not some political manoeuvre, not some clever game; it was something for which we thought there would be bipartisan support.

We know that they in many cases also agree with us and believe in it. That is why we have seen the leaks reported in the last couple of days. Only today, there in The Australian, from Dennis Shanahan, on the front page, under 'Plain talk on politician speak in ALP’s shadow cabinet':

Bill Shorten can’t deny there was a split in Labor over his opposition to raising the Medicare Levy to fund the NDIS but insists his shadow cabinet is “on the same page".

Really? On the same page—member for Grayndler, member for Ballarat, member for McMahon? I do not think they are on the same page. Maybe they are, but I would like to know what the book is—Game of Thrones, perhaps? There is a new edition of Game of Thrones. It is called 'The war to end all wars'. It has just been announced today. Maybe it is War and Peace. Maybe it is Fight Club. In reality, they know he has done the dirty, not just on them but on people with disability, on the people he pretends to represent. In the end, if you do not back supporting the NDIS you are nothing more— (Time expired)