Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. How is the Albanese Labor government increasing bulk-billing? Why is it needed after a decade of cuts and neglect of Medicare?

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

I thank the member for Spence for his question. He has the privilege of representing the northern suburbs of our great city of Adelaide, a community centred around Elizabeth, which of course gave us Jimmy Barnes and many thousands of Holden motor vehicles until, of course, those opposite decided to shut down the car industry a decade ago.

But the member for Spence has also been a relentless advocate for our Strengthening Medicare program to boost bulk-billing, to make medicines cheaper and to roll out urgent care clinics, including the urgent care clinic in Elizabeth. It's open seven days a week, it's fully bulk-billed for patients and, importantly, it's taking much-needed pressure off the local Lyell McEwin Hospital. Suzannah's Google review is a good example of the hundreds of patients that are seen every week at the Elizabeth clinic. She wrote in her review:

Extremely quick check in to the Elizabeth Urgent Care Centre for a laceration to my hand. Highly recommend this over waiting many hours in an Emergency Department. Perfect example at what's urgent, but not an emergency.

The 58 urgent care clinics that we opened last year have already seen 425,000 patients and are delivering urgent care, all fully bulk-billed. We also committed to boosting bulk-billing for GP visits more generally, through a $3½ billion investment to triple the bulk-billing incentive. I'm pleased to report today that, in the seven months since that funding kicked in, bulk-billing has risen in every single state and territory in the federation—by five per cent in our state of South Australia, by more than eight per cent in the state of Tasmania—across the country delivering around 1.7 million additional free visits to the doctor in just seven months. In April alone, there were 425,000 additional free visits to the doctor that would not have occurred but for the changes we made last year. For Labor, that's a big deal, because, for Labor, bulk-billing is the beating heart of Medicare.

But, of course, our approach here could not be more different from that of those opposite, reflected in the member's question about 10 years of cuts and neglect, led by a man who 10 years ago famously said there were too many free Medicare services—too many apparently!—a man who then tried to abolish bulk-billing altogether in his horror health budget, delivered 10 years ago almost to the day. That's not our way in Labor. Medicare is in our DNA. That's why the member for Spence and every single member on this side of the House is fighting so hard to strengthen it.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Can the minister confirm that, after two years of Labor, bulk-billing rates have dropped by 11 per cent?

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

I appreciate the dorothy dixer from the member opposite, a member that I think all members of this House recognise as not the worst health minister in the history of Medicare but perhaps the second worst minister in the history of Medicare. What I said in the lead—

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

The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

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

Yes, on standing order 90: inappropriate, disrespectful language. The minister, who is a serial offender, should be counselled.

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

I'm always happy to counsel people, Manager of Opposition Business. Thank you for raising that point again about the repeated practice of undignified personal attacks. I'm going to make sure the minister does not use any such language moving forward for the remainder of this answer and any other answers he may have today.

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

The deputy leader asked me about the trajectory of bulk-billing. I was very clear in the lead-in to the last election—and I have been since—that bulk-billing has been falling over the last period of time, and it's no surprise. If you freeze the income of general practice for six years, which is what the Leader of the Opposition kicked off in that budget I referred to and what was continued by the deputy leader when she was the health minister, things will change. I've been honest about this. I've also been more transparent and honest about what is actually happening around bulk-billing than those opposite were. They tried to cloak the bulk-billing figure in the one-off COVID measures that had to be bulk-billed.

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

The minister will pause. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance, Mr Speaker. How can it be in order, with such a tight question, to talk about the opposition?

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

The question was about bulk-billing rates after two years. I guess the minister wants to defend the accusation that they have or haven't dropped and is going to be talking about what he believes the rates were. I'm not exactly aware of what the rates are, so I can't adjudicate—

I know the member for Riverina is trying to help, but, trust me, he's not. I ask the minister to make sure he's being directly relevant for the remainder of the answer. He won't be able, for the remaining one minutes and 57 seconds, to talk about the opposition.

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

Unfortunately for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the world was not created on 21 May 2022. We inherited a Medicare system that had been deeply impacted by a decade of cuts and neglect. I said very openly that bulk-billing was continuing to slide, which is why we put, in the last budget in 2023, a record investment to turn bulk-billing around. I said that would not happen quickly. I was very honest about that. I was also more transparent with the Australian people about what was really happening in bulk-billing by starting to report how many visits to general practice were bulk-billed every single month. Those opposite never reported that. They cloaked and disguised their bulk-billing data in these one-off COVID data—these tens of millions of COVID—

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

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's a minute left to go. I have a point of order under standing order 91(c), which states a member's conduct is disorderly if they wilfully refuse to conform to a standing order. You have brought the minister back to the relevance of the question, and he continues to talk about the opposition.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Take a breather. The minister is entitled to do some compare and contrast, but, if he continues with that, I will sit him down. The deputy leader is correct in her point of order, and he needs to be mindful of the standing orders.

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

Well, Mr Speaker, no-one has talked about the sorry state of bulk-billing for the last several years, including since we came to government, more than me, which is why we put a record investment in last year's budget to turn it around. We tripled the bulk-billing incentive, and, since it kicked in on 1 November, it has started to rise in every single state and territory in the Federation, in seven months delivering 1.7 million additional visits. I've never sought to deny that bulk-billing was sliding. I advocated in this parliament, in the community and in the Expenditure Review Committee to deliver the biggest investment in the history of Medicare for bulk-billing.

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

Order! The Leader of the Opposition!

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

This guy tries to pull a stunt, when he started it all.

Honourable members interjecting—

This guy started it all with the worst health budget in the history of the federation.

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

Look, whatever just happened there is completely undignified for the House. I'm going to ask all members, for the remainder of question time—it's a plea to everyone—to lift the standards and lift the tone. That's everyone.