David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister for health. In the gallery today is Jo Rhodes, a pharmacist from Nowra, along with 70 other concerned pharmacists from around the country. Hundreds of regional pharmacies like Ms Rhodes's face potential bankruptcy because of Labor's new 60-day dispensing policy. Will the government enter into a new agreement with pharmacists before this policy commences so that cost-of-living relief can be delivered without the risk of bankrupting community pharmacies?

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

Order! The member for Macarthur is warned. The member for Riverina will cool his jets. I want to hear the answer in silence. I give the call to the Minister for Health and Aged Care.

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

I welcome the pharmacists in the gallery here. I welcome the work they do and the work they did all through the pandemic, particularly. They were the most accessible health service in almost all of our communities through three years. I welcome a question about our commitment to cheaper medicines. We are delivering on our commitment to make medicines cheaper for all Australians at a time of cost-of-living pressures hitting all people in Australia, particularly people who are reliant upon medicines not just for one month because they have an infectious disease but for years and years, if not decades, because they have chronic disease.

But there is more to do. Although we have a strong record of cutting the price of medicines in just 12 months, there is more to do. We did accept the advice of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee that there could be 60 days of supply for 300 common medicines prescribed for chronic disease. And that is not new advice, because the former government received that advice five years ago about common medicines for chronic disease.

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

The member for Page is warned.

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

They decided in their wisdom—

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

The minister for infrastructure will cease interjecting. The health minister will just pause. There is far too much noise. The member for Page is now on a warning. The warnings won't be issued if that level of noise continues. I will hear from the Leader of the Nationals on a point of order.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order: relevance. This is about a renegotiation agreement because this minister is taking—

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

Resume your seat. The Leader of the Nationals has abused the standing orders. The question was about the changes the government is making. The minister is being relevant. I am listening to him carefully about the impact of these changes. Whoever is yawning there can just remain silent. The House will come to order so the minister can be heard in silence.

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

As I was saying, this is not new advice. The advisory committee provided the same advice five years ago. The former government, in their wisdom, decided not to follow it and, as a result, millions of patients paid twice as much for their medicines than they otherwise had to. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid out by patients because the former government decided not to follow the advice of the experts. Now, we are following the advice of the experts. It will halve the costs of medicines for six million patients, which is why the Consumers Health Forum has supported our decision, as has the Heart Foundation, Diabetes Australia, Arthritis Australia and the Breast Cancer Network. Every other patient group that has reported on this has supported our decision. It will halve the number of times those six million patients have to visit a GP, freeing up millions of GP visits every year that can go to other patients who are currently waiting to see their doctor, which is why every single is doctor's group has supported it.

As I said, every dollar saved by this measure will be reinvested into pharmacy, because on this side we support sustainable community pharmacy. We are talking with all groups in the pharmacy sector, including the Pharmacy Guild, about the best way to make that investment, including, in particular, the impact on rural pharmacies. I look forward to those discussions continuing.

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

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the member for Riverina will cease interjecting immediately.