Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've been speaking with local pharmacists in my electorate of Hume who are deeply concerned about the Albanese government's new 60-day dispensing policy. We on this side of this place, of course, strongly support affordable and convenient access to medicines for all Australians. This is a real imperative. In government we committed to lowering the cost of medicines and approved more than 2,900 new or amended listings on the PBS at an overall investment of around $16.5 billion. However, there have been some serious concerns raised around this change, including that it could force the cost of other items to increase, so that Australians end up paying more for pharmacy.

I've been listening to community pharmacists in Goulburn, Boorowa, Thirlmere, Camden and Crookwell, and they're all telling me the same thing. They're concerned that this could result in medication supply issues and threaten the future of local community pharmacies. The truth is that our local community pharmacies do a great deal right now that they do not charge for. Whether it's in aged care or cross-subsidising Webster packs, there are a range of services that they provide. The risk we face is that we are going to lose those services that are absolutely integral to our communities. Community pharmacies play an integral role in country towns right across my electorate and our regional towns and communities. We must defend them and ensure they are strong into the future.