Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This month, July, is Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month, and today I want to tell about my own very recent and real journey, about my large oral tumour, which, thankfully, was discovered and surgically removed. We all lead busy lives. But there is never a better time than this month, during Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month, to have a check-up with your dentist and health practitioner.

For me, that started at a general check-up with my local dentist, who found something odd growing from the left-hand side of the roof of my mouth. I did not really understand what that was or could mean, and, I am sad to say, I continued my busy life. However, my dentist persisted and made sure I was booked in locally to see a head and neck specialist that visits Nowra each month. The truth is, I was still in denial. I was fit, healthy, a wife, a mum of four and an MP. But, as I learnt from the head and neck surgeon, I had a large oral tumour in my mouth. I was just stunned.

The reality set in just before Easter 2024. I quietly scolded myself for not knowing what was going on in my own mouth and that it had been growing slowly in my mouth for some time. I was not in physical pain, but every single time I talked my tongue hit the tumour. The tumour was the new roof of my mouth, hidden quietly from public view, just behind my front teeth and my smile; no-one would ever know. The previous radio ads where I'd had trouble pronouncing some simple words, all of a sudden made sense.

Although my family and close friends and colleagues knew, it was not something I could tell people. It was something that I was living with each and every day; it was playing on my mind. I was told that, regardless of whether the tumour was benign or something more sinister, it would need to be removed, and, although my tests were as good as they could be, there was still a chance the tumour was cancerous.

For me, just getting to surgery was a major battle. I thank my staff, who had my back the entire time.

Even going to hospital on the day of surgery, I was anxious to the point of not feeling well. I feared being sent home. But, thankfully, the surgery happened, the tumour was removed and the surgery was a success.

It was when I was getting a dental obturator—which is a specially made, 3D-printed dental prosthesis—fitted, to cover the roof of my mouth while it healed, that I learnt about the amazing technological advances in facial reconstruction following tumour removal for cancer. Our amazing Medicare system of course covers the removal of oral tumours in hospital. But if your tumour removal means cutting into your jaw, nose or face, Medicare does not cover the reconstruction, so you might not be able to do simple and very necessary functions like eating and speaking. If you have breast cancer or prostate cancer, Medicare does cover the cost of a reconstruction, which is great, but, if you have head and neck cancer, Medicare does not cover a reconstruction with technology available. My grievance is: this needs to change.

I was lucky to learn, a week or so later, that my tumour was benign. But it would have turned cancerous if not removed.

The Senate Community Affairs References Committee last month handed down its recommendations on the inquiry into equitable access to diagnosis and treatment for individuals with rare and less common cancers. I particularly note recommendation 14. It recommends:

… that the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to identify the barriers faced by cancer patients requiring rehabilitation, prosthetics and implants as a result of their treatment, with a view to ensuring they have financial support for those services.

I lend my support to that recommendation, because head and neck cancer patients should be able to have access to reconstruction surgery to ensure an adequate quality of life.

I sincerely thank my dentist, surgeon and health practitioners, and all who work in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery and treatment. Thank you for your dedication to a better way of life for tumour and cancer patients.

This month, I encourage people to have that oral check—have that regular health check. It could just save your life.

Issues close to the hearts of many people in my electorate of Gilmore are access to a bulk-billing GP and the cost of medicines. That's why I was thrilled to learn today that more GPs are bulk-billing patients in Gilmore as a direct result of the Albanese government's tripling of the bulk-billing incentive, with more than two million additional bulk-billed visits across the country since 1 November 2023. In the month before the bulk-billing incentive was tripled on 1 November 2023, 78.4 per cent of all GP visits were bulk-billed in Gilmore. Over the next seven months, the bulk billing rate increased by 5.7 percentage points to 84.1 per cent in May.

Gilmore residents have also saved $2,056,110 on the cost of their medicines, thanks to the Albanese government's cheaper medicines policies, including our landmark 60-day prescription reforms and the largest cut to the maximum patient co-payment in the 75-year history of the PBS. Almost 50,000 60-day scripts were filled in Gilmore to May 2024.

This week, the Albanese government also delivered the second-largest increase to Medicare rebates in 30 years, with $900 million in additional Medicare funding. This came on top of the $940 million delivered last year, in the largest increase in 30 years. This means that, in just two years, the Albanese government has increased Medicare rebates by twice as much as the former government did in their nine years in office. Seven months of official Medicare billing data shows that, after a decade of cuts and neglect from the Liberals, the slide in the GP bulk-billing rate has stopped, and bulk-billing rates continue to improve each month. Nationally the GP bulk-billing rate was 79 per cent in May, a rise of 3.4 per cent since the higher bulk-billing incentives came into effect on 1 November. Australians living in regional and rural areas like mine have seen the biggest increases, with an estimated additional 900,000 bulk-billed visits since the higher bulk-billing incentives came into effect. Thanks to the Albanese government there is more bulk-billing in Gilmore. Doctor's groups have called our tripling of the bulk-billing incentive a game changer, and clearly it is in Gilmore.

After a decade of cuts and neglect to Medicare by the Liberals, bulk-billing was in freefall. The pressure on general practice began when the opposition leader was health minister and tried to do away with bulk-billing, by introducing a fee on every single visit to the GP, and then he started a six-year freeze on Medicare rebates. The Albanese government committed to making it easier for people to see a bulk-billing doctor, and that is exactly what is happening right around the country, particularly in rural and regional Australia. This is a win all round for patients, doctors and the health system, and it is helping make Medicare stronger. People in Gilmore know that after a decade of cuts it was increasingly hard to find a bulk-billing doctor. Thanks to the Albanese government, there is more bulk-billing in our region, which is delivering significant cost-of-living relief for local people. Labor introduced Medicare, and only Labor can be trusted to strengthen and protect it.

We know people are doing it tough, and that's why we are delivering for every Australian. From 1 July, every Australian taxpayer gets a tax cut, not just some. Sixty-four thousand taxpayers in Gilmore get a tax cut, and 56,000 taxpayers in Gilmore now get a bigger tax cut than under the previous Liberal government's plan. Our $300 energy bill relief is beginning to flow, and 2.6 million low-paid workers getting their third consecutive pay rise, backed by this government. We're providing cost-of-living support while putting downward pressure on inflation. We're providing stronger Medicare, cheaper medicines, HECS relief for everyone with a student debt, more homes built more quickly, cheaper groceries by strengthening the food and grocery code, cost-of-living relief without adding to inflation, and a Future Made in Australia. There's more to do, and I'll keep working hard every single day to deliver for everyone in Gilmore.