Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I confirm for the people in my electorate that health funding continues to go up year in, year out. From 2018 to 2019 health funding from the federal government will increase. From 2019 to 2020 it goes up again. This is great news for local people. Whether you're relying on drugs from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, on bulk-billing to see the doctor or on well-funded public hospitals, it's important that funding continues to go up, because of the growing population in our area, the Moreton Bay Region and the City of Brisbane. I confirm that, under our government, it does. We're able to do this because of record jobs and economic growth, some 420,000 new jobs, which means more income tax for the federal government, and we're putting that not just back into your pocket with tax cuts but into health care and other essential services.

It's the nature of politics to disagree at times with your opponents; however, in recent years state and federal election campaigns run by the Labor Party and some of their union heavyweights have taken a particularly disappointing turn. The bullying and personal attacks by left-wing organisations like GetUp!, the ETU and the CFMMEU are just some examples of this. Elections should be fought and won on the ground, on truth and on issues that are relevant in each electorate. Scare campaigns based on lies shouldn't be part of our democratic election campaigns, either now or into the future. As you know, Mr Speaker, the real master of scare campaigns is the Australian Labor Party. You only have to look at their dishonest 'Mediscare' campaign from the last federal election to see how manipulative it was. They were desperate for a way to win more votes, so they decided to play on the public's vulnerability. Our healthcare system is the envy of the world. We have access to world-class services in every corner of the country, and it's something all Australians are incredibly grateful for.

The Labor Party's 'Mediscare' campaign in 2016 was a desperate and appalling attempt at politics, and it's no surprise that they're at it again. This week, constituents in my electorate received a typical Labor fake news flyer. It stated that the coalition government was ripping $29 million out of local hospitals—'ripping' was the word they used. We know that is absolutely rubbish—literally, that flyer is worth throwing in the bin. Every fact on this flyer is completely false. Ironically, it's the Queensland Labor government who is cutting funding from local hospitals in my electorate. It's the federal coalition Liberal-National government who has increased funding by $120 million to the Metro North Hospital and Health Service, including Redcliffe Hospital, and it's the Labor state government who has cut some $21 million from the Metro North Hospital and Health Service, including Redcliffe Hospital. It's the federal coalition who have increased funding for hospitals in the metro north region by 38 per cent. That's almost 10 times more, percentage-wise, than what the state Labor funding increase has been.

The coalition government has made a rock-solid commitment to Medicare, with an additional $4.8 billion investment, meaning more doctors, more nurses, more services for hospitals and more drugs listed on the PBS. And it is not only that; Petrie's bulk-billing rate is at a record high of 86.1 per cent, which means almost nine in 10 residents do not pay a cent to see their doctor. Some choose to see a particular doctor and pay a little bit.

These statistics truly highlight the fact that Labor is once again running a dishonest campaign, and I urge residents to look at the truth. Under the new agreement that we have with the states, there will be an additional $7.5 billion over five years. As your federal member, I say to the people of Petrie: I'll continue to make sure health care is well funded.

Question agreed to.

House adjourned at 17:01