Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Why has the government changed the distribution priority area classification for rural doctor shortages to now include outer metropolitan areas in a move that the Rural Doctors Association of Australia warns will wreak havoc in the bush and could cost lives of rural and remote patients? Why is the government putting the lives of rural Australians at risk?

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to take a question on what this government is doing to make it easier to see a doctor. I'll tell you the position we inherited from those opposite, which is that it had never been harder and never been more expensive to see a doctor than it became under their government after nine long years of cuts and neglect to Medicare.

For context, let me run through what exactly led to the decisions I've been asked about. Back in 2019, the former government ripped away the ability to recruit overseas trained doctors from 140 GP regions which for years had depended on overseas trained doctors to fill their consulting rooms. That was removed with the stroke of a pen. I can tell you that a number of MPs on this side organised discussions with patient groups and with doctors to run through what that meant to those local communities. Members in the Hunter Valley, like the new member for Hunter, the member for Patterson and the member for Shortland, as well as the candidate for Leichhardt and the senator for Far North Queensland said to me what that meant for the people of Cairns and what it meant for the Hunter Valley to have those consulting rooms hollowed out—utterly hollowed out—with the stroke of a pen by the former government.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Herbert will cease interjecting.

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We took an evidence based approach to this question. We had a long Senate inquiry that took evidence from patient groups, from doctors groups and from local communities about what exactly that had meant for people who wanted to go in and see a GP. It lifted the lid on the impact of that decision by the Morrison government back in 2019.

The former government had pretended that recruiting a doctor in the Hunter Valley was the same as recruiting a doctor in Mosman. They pretended that recruiting a doctor on the Central Coast was the same as recruiting a doctor on the North Shore.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parkes will cease interjecting.

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But after three years of their experiment, ripping out from regional Australia the ability to recruit those GPs—

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on relevance, Mr Speaker: the question asked specifically about the Rural Doctors Association of Australia warning that this will wreak havoc in the bush.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question also asked about the changes to the distribution priority areas and the classification for rural doctors. The minister is in order.

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We make no apology for making it easier to see a doctor in this country. We make no apology for strengthening Medicare after nine long years of cuts and neglect. As the member and others opposite should know, a range of incentives continue in place—for example, the workplace incentive program that provides up to $60,000 in additional incentives for those modified Monash model areas Nos 3 to 7 that continue to provide additional incentive—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to rural health areas. There is still much to do to undo the damage of those opposite. Strengthening Medicare cannot happen overnight, but we make no apology for starting to undo the damage inflicted after nine long years of their cuts and their neglect of the Medicare system.