Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health: will the minister update the House how a strong economy enables the government to subsidise life-changing medicines for Australian patients living with lung cancer? Is the minister aware of any different approaches that resulted in patients being delayed access to medicines recommended by the experts?

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

I want to thank the member for Goldstein, who has been a great advocate for GriefLine in his electorate and a great advocate for the listing of new medicines, and has also been a great advocate for action which will help deliver a strong economy. He knows his economic history, and I think he would know the history of the PBS and some of the things that have happened in recent years.

But, interestingly, yesterday I realised that there are some who don't know that history. I read a transcript from the member for Ballarat who was asked a question at the Press Club about whether or not Labor would list medicines recommended by the PBAC if they were ever in government again. She said, 'Look, it has been, frankly, terrific to see that the government'—our government, that is—'has been listing medicines'. And then she went on to say 'in the same way that Labor did in government', and then went on to guarantee that they would list the medicines 'as we did in government'. That was a bit of a surprise to me. I had to dig out the 2011 budget statement, and it was a statement authorised by the Assistant Treasurer, amongst others, and the then Assistant Treasurer is now the Leader of the Opposition. That statement said that, due to fiscal circumstances:

… the listing of some medicines would be deferred until fiscal circumstances permit.

As the Consumers Health Forum and 59 other organisations said at the time:

Affordable medicines and vaccines that save and prolong lives are being denied to some of the most vulnerable chronically ill Australians by a short-sighted decision by the Government to disregard the recommendations of PBAC.

That is what they did when they were in government.

Fortunately, fiscal circumstances are strong under this government and they will always be strong. That's why when the PBAC recommended the listing of Tagrisso, in mid-December, we were able to announce a month later that that medicine would be listed as of 1 February. Tagrisso is a wonderful medicine. It is a new medicine which treats lung cancer for those with a genetic condition that causes it; people who have never smoked, in the overwhelming majority of cases. And what that means—as the Prime Minister and the member for Deakin and I were able to say on the day when we met with Bruno, who has been through the clinical trials on this, and who has his life back and is able to be a dad because of this medicine—is that 400 other patients, in a $69 million listing, will save up to $90,000 per year through this new medicine that is on the PBAC. That means they have a shot at life. That means they have a shot at being their full selves. Under us, if the PBAC lists it, we will always list a new medicine, and we will do that because we have a strong economy.

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

My question is to the Prime Minister. According to this list provided by the Department of Health this week, there are at least 52 medicines that have been recommended by the independent experts for listing on the PBS but not listed by this government. This includes drugs for cancer, Parkinson's disease and a range of other life-threatening conditions. How can this government boast about the PBS while it's delaying access to life-saving drugs?

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

Nothing could give me more pleasure than to answer this question. Of all the things that this government has done in its time which represent the delivery of a strong economy and the translation of that into essential services it has been the listing of new medicines—new medicines for cystic fibrosis, new medicines for spinal muscular atrophy, new medicines for lung cancer, new medicines for skin cancer and new medicines for so many other different conditions.

I want to compare that with some of the things that the previous government did. They denied the listing and they deferred the listing for Symbicort, for the treatment of severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; for Fragmin, to prevent the formation of blood clots and to treat deep vein thrombosis; and for endometriosis and in vitro fertilisation medicines. They said at the time:

Given the current fiscal environment, the listing of some medicines would be deferred until fiscal circumstances permit.

That was when the Leader of the Opposition was the Assistant Treasurer. Not once has he ever explained why they made that decision. Not once has he ever stood and talked to the public about why he believed it was fair and reasonable to make those deferrals.

Let me deal with some of the things that the member for Ballarat has asserted. I have done a bit of analysis and a little bit of an assessment and we have looked at the sorts of things that they have talked about. When they stopped listing medicines, there was an average of 14.1 months of delay. In the cases they deferred on previous things that we have assessed, the highest average was eight months. We have been able to bring the listing forward to under three months for Kisqali, for Spinraza, for Kalydeco, for Orkambi and to one month for Tagrisso.

There was an interesting example that the member cited. The last time she talked about a specific drug was when she referred to a PBAC recommendation with regard to a vaccine. I had a look at that, and do you know what? It turned out that it was a proposal for the pneumococcal vaccine. What she didn't understand—and I can only think that it was misunderstanding, not wilful misleading—was that it had to go back to the regulators after a two-year assessment process. When the pneumococcal vaccine is finally approved by the PBAC we will list it but it hasn't been approved. When it is finally approved, we will list it, as we do with everything—as opposed to those on the other side, who made shameful decisions to defer the listing of new medicines.

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

Is the member for Ballarat seeking to table a document?

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

I am seeking to table the list of 52 medicines that this government has failed to list, including some that have not been listed for well over—

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

No; the member for Ballarat needs to seek leave. Is leave granted? Leave is not granted.