Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 1 February 2023 marks the 39th anniversary of the introduction of Medicare by the Government of Prime Minister Hawke; and

(b) Australia's healthcare system is based on equitable and fair access for all Australians; and

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) as of 1 January 2023, the Government will have reduced the cost of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payment by $12.50 to a maximum of $30; and

(b) the Government is making medicines cheaper and more accessible for Australian families.

At 6.06 on 6 September 1983 Dr Neal Blewett, Minister for Health in the Hawke Labor government, rose in this parliament to read the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 1983 into Hansard. This created Medicare out of the ashes of Medibank and provided Australians 'a health insurance system that is simple and affordable', to quote Dr Blewett. Thirty-nine years on, we mark the anniversary of Australia's first-class, world-leading universal health system, Medicare.

Labor governments have prided themselves on championing equitable, universal and affordable health care as a right for Australians. I remember before Medicare the discussions between my parents about who should go to the doctor, what our family could afford and who was sick enough to justify the cost. The green Medicare card meant that our family and Australians all around our country had access to support and medical advice they could afford. My parents' relief was obvious to me. It was the Labor governments of Whitlam and Hawke that introduced these reforms. Whilst the first reforms of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme date back to the Chifley Labor government, it is Labor governments that established our world-leading healthcare system, and the Albanese government will continue to defend and strengthen it.

For the first time in its 75-year history, the PBS has been amended to provide Australians with life-saving medicines at a more affordable price. With new medicines being added to the PBS monthly, it remains crucial that these medicines are accessible should Australians need them. It is the government's responsibility to ensure that there is equitable and available access to medicines and to health care. The last decade saw this dwindle. The continued freeze on Medicare forced doctors out and bulk-billing rates to drop. In communities like mine and all over Australia it is harder to see a GP, and more and more GPs can no longer afford to bulk-bill.

The release last week of the report of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce sets recommendations that the Albanese government are currently working through to turn this around and rebuild the systems that all Australians have relied on for the past four decades. Australia's healthcare system ranks among the best in the world. It's an achievement to be proud of, and Labor will always be the party to defend and support it. We understand that in order for Australia to prosper it needs a healthy population, and no barrier—especially financial—should hinder a person's ability to access the health care and medications they need.

The Australian people are currently facing a cost-of-living crisis, and our government should not shy away from supporting Australians during the difficult times. That's why from 1 January 2023 the maximum copayment has been reduced by $12.50 to the new maximum of $30. There are 3.6 million Australians who use over $30 a month in prescriptions and who, from 1 January, will save on their scripts under the Albanese government. I've heard constituents tell me of their experiences of being prescribed life-saving cancer medication that would have cost them thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars and who can now focus on getting better rather than worrying about how or whether they can afford the treatment prescribed.

But unfortunately I've also met with constituents with chronic conditions who make choices about the medications they can afford. This is becoming more and more common as cost-of-living pressures mount, and it is obviously the most vulnerable who are disproportionately affected. Australia must never be a country where people must choose between providing food and shelter for their family and seeing their doctor or filling a script. There should never be a moment in this country when people are forced to ration health care or face bankruptcy, as was the case before the introduction of universal health care in Australia.

Labor's measures to reduce the cost of vital medications is another step in that direction. We promised in our 2022 election platform to reduce the price of medicines, and we delivered: $190 million a year directly into the pockets of Australians. We are a country that ensures that all Australians receive the medical care they need regardless of income. That should always be the pillar of our healthcare system. Labor is the party of Medicare, and the Albanese government will ensure that our healthcare system is continuously defended and strengthened.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Werriwa has moved that the House note that Australia's healthcare system is based on equitable and fair access for all Australians. In comparison with our global counterparts—the US and the UK—this is true, but most particularly in regional Australia there are many who would say it has also deteriorated to the point of crisis. The reality in the bush is higher mortality and morbidity rates than the city.

I stand here in this House of government for all Australians. Every decision made here should be based on the principles of fairness and equity. However, if the healthcare system is based on equitable and fair access then why do those who live in regional centres perpetually have poorer outcomes? What may be true in Western Sydney is not reflected in Mallee or, indeed, most other regional centres. In my maiden speech I said your health status should not depend on your postcode. But it does, and I will continue to state this inequity until there is significant change—not change in rhetoric but change in outcomes. There is cold, hard evidence of the unfairness and inequity Labor are helping to perpetuate—for example, in the expansion of the distribution priority areas. This policy is harming access to doctors in regional centres, making a bad situation worse.

I currently have a survey on my website for people to tell their story about their access to health care in Mallee. Sadly, but not surprisingly, the results are not good. Nearly 2,000 people have written a response. Thirty per cent of respondents say they do not have a regular GP, 40 per cent of respondents have put off seeing a GP because it's too hard to get an appointment and 33 per cent of people have presented to their local hospital because they could not see a GP.

The best health outcomes occur when patients have longstanding relationships with a doctor who can provide ongoing care. As one doctor said to me last week: 'When you have been seeing the same patient for 16 years you know when they walk into the room if something is not right.' Continuity of care is everything in primary care and that is what this government does not understand. When patients have no ongoing GP it puts pressure on already stretched hospital emergency departments.

Where is the fair and equitable access? An 80-year-old cancer patient told me she puts off going to the clinic because of the weeks she has to wait, even though she knows she would be better to have regular check-ups. A young mother told me that since her clinic in Mildura closed she has been forced to send her two young children to two different clinics while she and her husband attend a third, and they still can't get a regular doctor. Many people have said it takes up to eight weeks to get an appointment. These people are not receiving fair and equitable access to health care. Even worse, just last week I spoke with a nurse practitioner in my electorate who provides the only health service in a small town. She has had to dip into her superannuation to manage her operational running costs. That is ridiculous, you might say, but such is her dedication to her local community. The fact is Medicare rebates and funding models must improve for her to be able to continue to offer services in that rural town.

To pretend there is a silver bullet is naive, I know. Thin workforces are just one of the problems facing equitable healthcare delivery in regional areas right across Australia. Decisions made by the Labor government have contributed to inequity and unfairness, however, in rural and remote locations. For example, in July 2022 one of the first decisions made by the new Labor government was, as I mentioned, to expand the distribution priority areas. As a result, international medical graduates have the option to move to an outer urban setting rather than regional areas with the same incentives. The current system cannot provide fair and equitable access to health care without an incentive for doctors to practise in all corners of Australia. We need solutions, and we need them now. We need solutions to doctor shortages and, indeed, all health professional shortages. The regional workforce needs to have its voice heard.

Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

February 2023 marks the 39th anniversary of the introduction of Medicare by the government of Prime Minister Hawke. Australia's healthcare system is based on equitable and fair access for all Australians. It was in my maiden speech to this parliament that I spoke about how our healthcare system is based on fair and equitable access for all. Our hospitals, for example, including those in my region, Gosford Hospital and Wyong Hospital, are places where it does not matter who you are, it doesn't matter where you come from and it doesn't matter the circumstances that lead to your presentation. You will be cared for, and you will be cared for for free. That's due to a hard-fought Labor initiative that saw a little green card come into the lives of all Australians, a little green card with the word that represents universal access and complete access: Medicare.

This is only going to improve with the introduction of our urgent care centres, one of which my electorate on the Central Coast is receiving. We are creating a new model of care in Australia, one that is seen and established right across the world in different nations—access to care if you are too sick to see the GP and not sick enough to see the emergency department. It is a service that will treat adults, a service that will treat children, a service with extended operating hours and, most importantly, a service that will be bulk-billed. This is part of our promise—the Albanese-Labor government's promise—to strengthen Medicare and improve access to Medicare services.

A major issue that I see in the emergency departments on the Central Coast is the rationing of medications, meaning that patients are taking their prescribed medications every second day, every third day, every fourth day or sometimes once a week. This is all because they've been unable to afford their prescription medications. I can think of multiple clinical examples where this has been a significant issue. Let's take a patient who's taking a blood thinner, apixaban, which is Eliquis, in an attempt to prevent a blood clot causing a stroke secondary to an abnormal heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation. They are all very common conditions throughout our community. Patients would only be taking medication infrequently, and, therefore, this condition would lead to that patient presenting to the emergency department with a significant physical deficit—inability to use their arms, inability to use their legs and walk, inability to see, inability to swallow or the inability to talk—because of a stroke.

I think of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus presenting with several complications secondary to consistently elevated levels of blood sugar, including blindness because of damage to the retina, kidney failure requiring dialysis, damage to the nerves in the extremities and issues with the blood vessels in the legs, leading to wounds which get infected and requiring amputation of those limbs. I think of stroke. I think of coronary artery disease and heart disease, just to name a few. These are only two examples where the patients were unable to afford their medications so they would ration them, as I said, every second day, every third day or once a week or sometimes not take them at all. And these are two examples of patients who have chronic diseases where the sequelae are preventable if the medications are taken on a regular basis as prescribed by their doctor.

I'm proud to be part of a government—this Labor government—that is improving medication access for millions of Australians, including thousands on the Central Coast. From 1 January 2023 the government reduced the cost of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payments by $12.50 to a maximum of $30. This is not only a cost-of-living measure but also a measure that will prevent unnecessary trips to the doctor and unnecessary presentations to the emergency department, and it will ultimately save lives.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise to offer a belated happy birthday to Medicare. It's worth celebrating the establishment of a scheme for basic health care for all Australians. It's also worth noting that while the Whitlam government introduced what was then known as Medibank, it was the Fraser coalition government that established the levy of 2.5 per cent on income to fund it. Medibank closed in 1981 but was revived and rebadged as a Medicare in 1984.

No system is perfect. Medicare has had to adapt and change to meet advances in diagnostic medicine and treatments, and while the member for Werriwa is happy to boast in her motion that 'as of 1 January 2023, the government will have reduced the cost of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payments', there is no mention that, also as of 1 January 2023, the government has also slashed by half the number of Medicare subsidised psychology sessions. These are really important, and I urge the government to reconsider this cut.

A concerned psychologist in my electorate took the time to interrogate the clinic's patient records from 2016. The research showed that the percentage of clients discharged, once their mental health disorder had been appropriately treated, rose from 52 per cent in 2016 to 100 per cent in 2020 when the coalition increased the number of Medicare funded sessions to 20. In this clinic, it remained at 100 per cent through 2021 and 2022. So everyone with those 20 sessions was getting the care they needed. In 2016, 48 per cent of clients were discharged with only a partial improvement in their mental health, because they ran out of sessions. That dropped to zero when the coalition doubled the sessions.

The Labor government has voted to enshrine cuts to Medicare subsidised mental health for all Australians. These cuts have come at a time when Australians in my electorate and others are facing natural disasters and cost-of-living pressures and when household energy bills are skyrocketing.

An important thing to focus on is the workforce shortages that affect our health system. Medicare is a great system, but it needs the professional staff to operate properly. The shortages in our health system disproportionately impact our regional and rural areas. The coalition had, and has, a solution for Nicholls. We committed $19.5 million to fund a collaborative effort by La Trobe University and Goulburn Valley Health to establish a dedicated rural clinical health school in Shepparton. This would train nurses, midwives and allied health professionals of the future. They would train in a regional setting and more often than not, based on the outcomes from the rural doctor training —which the coalition improved in my region—would choose to continue to work in regional areas. Labor came to government and chose to scrap the funding stream that supported that clinical health school. New governments have that choice but I don't agree with it, and I urge the government to reconsider. I think the government has got to address the current skills gaps and help train the healthcare workforce of the future, particularly in regional and rural areas.

The rural clinical health school proposed for Shepparton, to service northern Victoria, is worth another look. It's a strong collaboration between La Trobe University and Goulburn Valley Health. It'll provide increased opportunities for young people across the area to pursue a career in health and undertake study locally. We need that in our hospitals and our aged-care facilities. The Nationals were very keen to fund this not because it was our idea or our policy but because it was the best fit to tackle critical work shortages in the region.

Medicare is a great institution, but it only works if you have access to health care. You need doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to deliver that care. There is a long-term and critical shortage of health, aged-care and community-care workforce at Goulburn Valley Health, with double the critical numbers required for the future. The proposed Goulburn Valley clinical health school would complement existing campuses of La Trobe University and GOTAFE in central Shepparton, including current and future planned extensions to expand educational opportunities in the region. I'm sure there are other regions with the right combination of hospital and university that could come together. They just need some government support to make this a reality.

So I urge the government; I want to work constructively and collaboratively with those opposite—the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Minister for Education and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government—to look at this clinical health school. It's a no-brainer. It'll be a great thing for our young people. It'll be a great thing for moving young people through training and into looking after our most vulnerable people: those in aged care and those who need acute health care.

Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Werriwa for taking the time to ensure that this parliament celebrates the 39th anniversary of the introduction of Medicare by the Hawke government. It is so important we celebrate a milestone such as this. It is important that we note the milestones of any government service that is so important to the direct wellbeing of Australians.

Medicare has survived through eight prime ministers and a handful of recessions, epidemics and pandemics. Medicare was created to ensure access for all Australians to Australia's world-class healthcare system when Australia needs it. It is a promise that, no matter what, every Australian should be afforded the dignity of health care. It does not matter their skin colour or income or gender or age. In Australia, something so important does not matter; all that matters is that when Australians need help they can get it.

Medicare has had many victories since it was born. Australians all over the country have deeply personal stories about Medicare and about how, without Medicare, there could be one less place set at the dinner table. Each of Medicare's greatest victories can look very different for each family. To me, it means that my eldest daughter was able to focus on fighting cancer and getting well, and not on the cost of her fight or whether she could afford it. Her country had her back.

There is still work to be done to make health care more affordable and accessible for all Australians. I am pleased to celebrate that, as of 1 January this year, the government has reduced the cost of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payment by $12.50 to a maximum of $30. This means that medicine will be cheaper and more accessible for Australian families. This reduction in the cost of medicine is just one step in our ongoing commitment to improve the accessibility and affordability of health care for all Australians. We will continue to work to ensure that all Australians have access to the medical care they need when they need it.

The reduction in the PBS co-payment does not just ease cost-of-living pressures for Australians who are struggling with their health and struggling with their wallet. It is so much more. This says something about Australia as a nation, as a community and as individuals. We want to be there for one another. We want to support people when they are in the fight of their lives, or for their lives. We want you to win. We want you to know that your community and your nation are together with you, even at a time when you may feel like the most lonely person in the most difficult place of your life. We want to help you, so we don't have to look into your wallet before you decide to get better. We will cover the bill because we know that you as an individual would want to do the same for us.

That is what makes this country so great. As individuals, people want to cover the bill and, as a community and as a nation, we want to, and so we do. Many of us owe you our lives, and we make it up to each other before and after we ever get sick. Happy anniversary, Medicare. You make me proud to be an Australian.

Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Werriwa for bringing this motion to the House, but I do find it quite extraordinary that those opposite, on the government benches, are singing their own praises about fair and accessible Medicare, when over the Christmas break we saw an extraordinary cut to Medicare when it comes to mental health. Perhaps those opposite haven't been keeping up to date with what's been going on within their own government. The Minister for Health and Aged Care cut access to Medicare for thousands of people. Over a million mental health sessions have been held since the coalition government doubled the accessibility of mental health sessions during the pandemic, from 10 to 20. It is quite extraordinary that the minister for health cut those sessions, when we certainly are not on the other side of the pandemic. In fact, today many people are very much struggling with their mental health when it comes to COVID-19.

This cut was made over the Christmas period, when so many people really struggle with their mental health. Not only was it a poorly timed cut to mental health sessions; it was a pretty heartless cut. Psychologists contacted me from right across this country really concerned about the mental health of their patients, because those patients were saying, 'We don't know what to do, because we need those sessions.' I had mothers write to me saying that, because their children had been able to access the 20 sessions, they were now interacting with other children in the schoolyard, and they had more confidence to go out and about. And those mothers could not afford to pay for any more.

This is what we're left with: a heartless cut over Christmas, during a pandemic, when people are suffering the most. They're not only suffering with the pandemic; they're suffering through the cumulative impacts of multiple disasters—floods and fires. I've stood with people when they've lost everything due to floods, when their homes are no longer standing, when they are trying to pick up their lives. They were suffering with trauma. They were suffering with mental health problems because of the cumulative impacts of these disasters.

Many people asked the health minister to reverse these cuts. Psychologists across the country called for it. In fact, the minister promised he would hold a roundtable with stakeholders to come up with a better solution. So we waited in hope. But that roundtable did not produce a reinstatement of what had been cut. In fact, just days after, the minister released a report from his Strengthening Medicare Taskforce. This report, which looked into the state of Medicare and provided recommendations to improve Medicare in this country, barely mentioned mental health at all. It certainly did not prioritise the mental health of people in this country. The Medicare report did not mention mental health, yet 70 per cent of GPs across this country say that one of the top three reasons people come in and see them is for mental health issues. So it is extraordinary that we have a cut to Medicare mental health sessions, and now the Medicare report does not even mention mental health. Perhaps that's because the minister did not have one mental health professional on his Strengthening Medicare Taskforce—not one. It is extraordinary, when we have a mental health crisis in this country, that the minister has cut the mental health sessions from 20 to 10, he has not mentioned mental health in the Medicare report and he did not have one mental health representative on his task force.

What is this telling the Australian people? It is telling them that their minister for health is not listening and, worse, he is possibly not caring. When we have multiple disasters, when we are still in the midst of a pandemic, when we have young people struggling with being locked up through COVID, when we have a mental health crisis, this government is not listening. This government needs to start taking the mental health of Australians a lot more seriously.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for bringing this motion about the fact that Medicare was introduced by the Hawke government in 1984. Medicare is the nation's universal health insurance scheme—for young, for old, for rich, for poor, for bush, for city, for those in sickness and those in health. The system guarantees all Australians access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost. I would like to table the member for Tangney's speech, if I could. I will stick to what my staff have written for me.

When the Hawke government introduced Medicare, the quality of health care depended on many factors, including where you lived and who you chose to be your parents. Mostly, it was about how much you earned. It was tough if you got sick and couldn't afford a doctor; you had to rely on the chemist, or some sort of family remedy, or prayers. It was rare for people to ever consider going to the hospital. A voluntary health insurance arrangement set up by the Menzies government meant doctors' fees were met by a combination of one-third government benefit, one-third private health fund benefit and one-third out-of-pocket payment by the patient.

Here is what Bob Hawke said in a speech delivered on 5 March 1984, a month after establishing Medicare:

It was totally unacceptable that nearly two million Australians were for several years without private insurance or the Commonwealth government's cover provided to pensioners, unemployed and low income earners. Many of the two million were simply unable to afford the cost of private insurance…

Labor's Medicare scheme allowed Australians to obtain the medical treatment they needed regardless of how much they earned. We know the consequences when people can't get early access to a GP. Early access identifies health problems before they become acute and costly for the individual and for the economy. The Labor Party has a history of legislating for the common good. Our belief in access to universal health care is an enduring value. We are the party of Medicare. We have a history of defending Medicare.

Sadly, coalition governments have a long history of running Medicare down. It was Gough Whitlam who first introduced the system of universal health care in Australia called Medibank. Subsequently, access to Medibank was heavily restricted under the Fraser government. Then, in turn, the Hawke government introduced Medicare and reinstated universal access. Who can forget John Howard's promise to Australians that he would not touch Medicare? Upon receiving the keys to the Lodge, he proceeded to cut funding to Medicare, raise the safety net threshold, and coerce and scare Australians into taking up private health insurance. The Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments froze the Medicare rebate, tried to introduce a GP tax three times and planned to privatise the Medicare payment system.

During the 2016 election campaign, a tough election campaign, we were packing up after a community barbecue in Moreton when two cars full of senior citizens pulled up. My office started to explain to the people that the barbecue was over, but they said. 'Never mind. We're Liberal voters and we hate what Malcolm Turnbull wants to do to Medicare. We've come to sign your petition and we hope we're not too late.' All sensible Australians understand the value of universal health care.

There are now too many stories of Australians not being able to see a bulk-billing doctor or of GPs changing from bulk billing to mixed billing. Only this week, sadly, I met with a Moreton GP who, after practising on the south side, said it is no longer financially viable to run his practice. He loves helping battlers. I could see the passion that he had for medicine. I take my hat off to every GP that is out there doing their bit for people healthwise. This guy loved helping battlers, but he's not sure if he can continue and doubts that anybody would even want to buy his practice. Only 15 per cent of graduates go into general practice; there aren't many of them. Sadly, the coalition froze the Medicare rebate for six years, ripped billions out of primary care and caused gap fees to skyrocket. It's no wonder that devoted doctors like the gentleman I mentioned are walking away from general practice. They are exhausted.

Every new Labor government has to clean up the Liberals' mess. But there's no easy fix. These problems have been festering for a decade and, as we know, it has gone septic in some suburbs and many parts of the bush. The Albanese government is committed to investing in general practice and strengthening Medicare. The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce is identifying the best ways to boost affordability, improve access and deliver support for patients.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take on board the member for Moreton's comments in relation to Medicare. Once again, he's fallen into the trap of blaming the coalition for all the ills of the nation whilst praising the Labor government. I stand at the dispatch box and say that Medicare is a good system. I stand at the dispatch box and say that we have the very best health system in the world, and we should be proud of that. If you don't believe me, go anywhere else in the world and see for yourself the sort of health system they have in place in the country you are visiting. Thank your lucky stars that you can return to Australia, that you live in Australia and that you have governments—plural—of all political persuasions that have pumped money into Medicare and into the health system.

We just heard from the member for Moreton. This is the member who, when speaking about infrastructure, questioned why, if a road hadn't been sealed for 70 years, you would seal it now. I recommend that he read Clare Armstrong's report in the Daily Telegraph today about the crisis in health care at the moment, particularly in remote Australia. I know those opposite are very much pushing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice and the Uluru Statement from the Heart. They would do well to read not just the report but also Ms Armstrong's op-ed and the editorial in the Daily Telegraph, the Sydney newspaper, today.

In the editorial they talk about the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which is, indeed, financially supported by the Daily Telegraph as part of the groundbreaking Bush Summit. I know they've held several of those and found that almost 45,000 people in remote Australia have no access to any type of primary healthcare service within a one-hour drive, as recommended by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. I know a lot of people choose to live in remote Australia. Many of those people who live in remote areas have to do so because they are providing the food and fibre for this nation.

I know—and, Deputy Speaker Freelander, I know you also know this well—that the head of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Trent Twomey, has made comments in recent days and weeks about the health system. Whilst I acknowledge that the health system is exceptional, there are things that we can change. There are things that we certainly can improve and need to improve. Mr Twomey said:

… the COVID-19 pandemic—during which pharmacists helped with the vaccine rollout—

Indeed, they did, and I thank them for that—

had shifted power and made decision-makers more likely to listen to the guild's proposals to improve the health system. The Pharmacy Guild represents about 5900 community pharmacy owners.

Mr Twomey was quoted as saying:

"The point I'm saying is, the hospital system is under strain, and other elements of primary care are under strain ... Money is not the solution to system reform," he said.

Twomey said the only solution to Australia's health crisis was "fully utilising all health practitioners to their full scope". "Nurses, yes. Dentists, yes. Pharmacists as well," he said.

I agree with him on that point. I know the role that chemists play in rural areas, particularly when, in some of those very small country towns, they are the only primary healthcare deliverer because—as the member for Forrest just pointed out—there is a lack of general practitioners.

Coming from a regional area, I know how important this is. There needs to be a balance. We need to strike the right balance. That is why I'm very pleased that my home town, Wagga Wagga, which is the head of a very large Murrumbidgee Valley healthcare provider, is looking after a quarter of a million people through the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.

In 2020 the then federal regional health minister, the member for Parkes, put in place a new model to boost access to GPs in our region and make rural generalist training more attractive for young doctors. The model, which was launched on 12 October 2020 in Wagga Wagga, gives junior doctors interested in working in rural general practice in the Murrumbidgee region the experience, exposure and qualifications they need to become rural generalist doctors: GPs with additional skills such as obstetrics or emergency medicine. I know that, coupled with the Murray-Darling medical school that I put in place, is going to make a real difference to get GPs in country areas. They can work with chemists. They can indeed work through the Medicare system.

I will repeat my comment from the outset of this speech: we have the best medical system in all of Australia and we can improve upon it.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is therefore adjourned and the resumption of debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.