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

My question is to the Prime Minister. The government has granted just four Medicare MRI licences in almost five years, meaning that access to MRIs covered by Medicare has become a lottery of location. Why won't this arrogant and out-of-touch Prime Minister join Labor's $80 million commitment for 20 new Medicare MRI licences instead of making secret deals with Pauline Hanson to give an $80 billion handout to his friends in big business?

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

I am delighted to answer this question, because in last year's budget we made a $2 billion-dollar, 10-year commitment to diagnostic imaging. Let me repeat that: a $2 billion-dollar, 10-year commitment to diagnostic imaging. That was about ensuring two critical things: firstly, that we would retain the bulk-billing incentive for diagnostic imaging—a very important step which happened on our watch, in our time. We made that decision as part of the first budget in health in which I was privileged to be a part.

Secondly, and very significantly, we indicated that we would become the first government in almost two decades to index a series of diagnostic imaging items: mammography, fluoroscopy, CT and interventional. None—let me repeat!—not one of those was indexed at any time under Labor's period in government. Not one! Not mammography, not fluoroscopy, not CT and not interventional items, yet each of those will be indexed under us. So a $2 billion-dollar commitment is exactly what we've done.

Actually, in relation to MRIs: only a couple of weeks ago I visited Frankston Hospital, with its new MRI licence, with the Treasurer and the member for Dunkley. What you see there—

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

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

You want to talk about pies?

Honourable members interjecting—

We can talk pies if you want! But what we see is that whether it's Frankston, whether it's $2 billion of MRI funding or whether it's record Medicare funding across the diagnostic sector, we are doing things that Labor never did. And that will make a real difference to funding in the sector and a real difference to the ability of Australians to seek diagnostic imaging. But remember one thing: despite six years in government, Labor did not touch mammography, fluoroscopy, CT or interventional, and we will be indexing all of them.