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

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the Government is building Australia's future by building a stronger Medicare with:

(a) free Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, so that you and your family have access to bulk billed health care when you need it;

(b) cheaper medicines, cutting the cost of prescriptions; and

(c) the largest investment in bulk billing in Medicare history, which is restoring bulk billing after ten years of cuts and neglect;

(2) expresses its concern at the Leader of the Opposition's record as Health Minister when he:

(a) tried to end bulk billing by making patients pay a tax every time they see a General Practitioner;

(b) cut $50 billion from public hospitals; and

(c) was voted worst Health Minister in the history of Medicare by Australian doctors; and

(3) further acknowledges only the Government can be trusted to protect and strengthen Medicare.

The Australian Labor Party established Medicare because we believe that you should not need a credit card to see your doctor in Australia and that all that you should need is your Medicare card. I'm proud to be part of a federal Labor government that, during this term, has invested significantly into strengthening Medicare for all Australians, particularly through the creation of our bulk-billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, which are helping Australians right across the nation to see a doctor for urgent but not life-threatening illnesses.

Across Australia, there are now 87 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, one of which is in my electorate of Robertson. The Peninsula Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, located at 297 West Street, Umina Beach, opened to our community in November 2023. Since then, it has seen over 13,000 patients, all bulk-billed. These outstanding clinics are helping to take pressure off our hospital emergency departments and assisting Australians with the cost of living. My office has received some tremendous feedback from patients who have seen a doctor for free at our local Medicare urgent care clinics. For example, Claire, a young mum from the peninsula, wrote this email following her visit to our clinic. Claire wrote:

This morning, we woke to a nasty surprise on Abigail's back—a suspected spider bite had turned really nasty and infected.

We weren't able to get into our usual medical practice so presented to the new UCC in Umina.

Well it was smooth, efficient and so very professional.

The abscess needed draining and the Dr and Nurse who sore to her were just fantastic—this is a game changer for medical care on the peninsular, we're grateful this service was available to us.

Or Carmel, another young mum, from Narara who wrote this about the Peninsula Medicare Urgent Care Clinic:

The Umina Urgent Care Clinic is an invaluable resource for our community.

I recently took my nine-month-old daughter there when she was unwell, and the experience was incredibly smooth and stress free.

I was triaged quickly and seen by a doctor right away, which saved me from a trip to the Gosford Hospital Emergency Department.

The visit was also covered by Medicare, which was a huge relief.

The staff, including both nurses and doctors, were highly professional, providing excellent care for my daughter, offering reassurance, and giving clear options for any follow-up care if needed.

It is clear that our bulk-billed urgent care clinics are having a real impact in our communities and are helping people see a doctor quickly, but most importantly for free.

We continue to invest and strengthen Medicare in other areas of health care as well, like our historic tripling of the bulk-billing incentive which has increased the bulk-billing rate in Robertson to 75.4 per cent—that's an increase of 2.4 per cent, which equates to an extra 39,507 patients seeing a bulk-billing doctor. Further, our cheaper medicines legislation has helped our community save $8,786,696 via approximately 1,001,792 cheaper scripts, as well as our 60-day scripts that have saved just shy of $1 million in my community from 150,000 scripts. All of these initiatives are examples of the federal Labor government building Australia's future by stronger Medicare.

As an emergency department doctor and the federal member for Robertson, I could not be happier with the progress we have made so far, but there is more work to do. That is why I have launched a petition calling on the federal government to establish a second Medicare urgent care clinic in Robertson. I want to ensure that as many people as possible in our community on the Central Coast have access to a Medicare urgent care clinic. With federally funded Medicare urgent care clinics located in Lake Haven and in Umina Beach, the Central Coast desperately needs a clinic in the middle ring suburbs.

Over the coming weeks and months, my team and I will be taking our petition door-to-door to encourage as many people as possible to sign and support our campaign. To date, the petition has reached over 2,000 signatures and we aim to reach more. I look forward to updating the parliament on the outcome of this campaign because when it comes to strengthening Medicare, only the Australian Labor Party can be trusted to look after the health of Australians. This is in stark contrast to the Leader of the Opposition, who as health minister cut $50 billion from our public hospitals, tried to end bulk-billing by creating a GP tax and was voted the worst health minister in the history of Medicare by Australian doctors.

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always a pleasure for me to stand and talk about health and Medicare. My speech today is also going to focus on women's health. Since being elected nearly three years ago, I have on every occasion possible spoken about health in this place, particularly as it relates to those in my electorate and also particularly on women's health issues.

This motion is about the government's legislation strengthening Medicare. I do not agree with most of the statements within the motion, despite my respect for the honourable member for Robertson. But there is one part of this that I do agree with. The free Medicare urgent care clinics are, in my view, the one area where this government, to give them credit, has improved health services. Unfortunately, though, it is just the one area, and unfortunately there are no free Medicare urgent care clinics provided in my electorate.

My electorate is the western end of the Sutherland shire—the Liverpool area—and now stretches down into south-west Sydney. Despite there being a number of doctors and also that south-west Sydney has been represented by Labor members for a long time, there has been very little investment in the south-west of Sydney. I am calling upon this government to, before the election, make a commitment to a free Medicare urgent care clinic within my electorate. South-western Sydney is one of the fastest growing areas in our country, in our state and in the very large city of Sydney. It is unacceptable that this area has been so neglected on health, that this government was very choosy about the electorates in which these urgent clinics would be placed, and my electorate missed out.

So I'm now calling upon this government to ensure that, before we adjourn and go into full campaign mode, the Prime Minister—who says he cares about health and says he cares about south-west Sydney—will make that commitment to the people in my electorate. And while the Prime Minister is there, I would ask him to make a similar commitment for women's health. I note that Labor has recently announced an extra $573 million package for women's health, and that is supported by the coalition. I'm very glad that, at last, those on the other side have discovered that there are women's health issues and that women have very different needs to those of men.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's true!

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hear some sort of interjections on the other side, so I will back up this statement. In south-west Sydney, our nearest women's health centre is in Mittagong—hundreds of kilometres away. Mittagong is not even in Sydney; this is the Southern Highlands. So, women in my electorate who need to access a pelvic pain clinic—whether it is for endometriosis, PCOS or menopause—are required to travel hundreds of kilometres. I have been petitioning the Minister for Health, Mark Butler, almost since the day I got here requesting that one of these clinics be placed in my electorate, either in the Sutherland shire, in southern Sydney, or in south-western Sydney. To date, that has fallen on deaf ears. The minister does not appear to be terribly interested in women's health in my part of the country. It might be useful if he came out and actually saw the lack of infrastructure that's in place for women in my electorate.

What the coalition will do for women, if elected, is match the government's funding that was announced only today. But we will also enhance menopause care for women. We'll have a new Medicare rebate. We'll expand health professional training. We'll develop national clinical guidelines and increase funding for endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. And it is noted that some of the good work that the other side have done on pelvic pain clinics was started under the former coalition government when we first committed to developing a nationwide strategy and framework on endometriosis. I thank the House.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've said it once today, but I'm going to repeat it here in the chamber. I'm a little bit sleep deprived, so strap in, folks; anything could happen. I woke up at 2.30 this morning. I lay there until 5.30 and dropped off to sleep, and then the alarm went at six o'clock. So, I am feeling not my best self. But I am not alone. There are millions of women across Australia who are in my position. Perimenopause kicked in for me at 45, and—hello!—I'm 55, and now menopause is with me every night of the week: the hot sweats, the insomnia, all the things.

So I couldn't be happier to be part of a government that recognises that there are thousands of women who need support through their menopause journey, and we are going to make it better and more affordable to go to a doctor. I can see the wry smile on your face, Deputy Speaker Andrews. You know exactly what I'm talking about, and so do Australian women. This is why we take health care seriously. In the last 24 hours, we have announced over $500 million to help Australian women with their health. When I'm out in my electorate of Paterson, talking to people, and talking to women in their homes, health care is the No. 1 issue they raise with me. Whether they raise it for their children, for their parents or for themselves, health care is first past the post, every time. That's why I am so pleased to be part of a government that's taking health care seriously, and not just for women but for all Australians. We've launched our urgent care clinics, and they are making a marked difference. When you need care that may not require you to go to a hospital, but it is urgent, the urgent care clinic is the place to go. You can go there with your Medicare card, not a credit card, and that is so important.

That's why I have been campaigning and I am now running a terrific petition with my community, who are backing it in, saying, 'We want an urgent care clinic in Paterson.' Paterson is one of the fastest-growing areas in New South Wales. We have had so many people come to live in our beautiful part of the world, but we know the health care hasn't kept up. I'm so pleased to have the member for Newcastle sat beside me today, because she has been championing the new urgent care clinic that's just opened in Charlestown, that's helping take the pressure off the John Hunter Hospital. When we get our clinic in Paterson, in Maitland, it is going to help take the pressure off the Maitland Hospital as well. These things are just so important.

The other part of this is that we have been working to strengthen Medicare. We've been working to support our doctors. We've just made an enormous announcement: billions of dollars going into our hospitals. We know that our hospitals need to be better funded, so we are entirely pleased to put the money into the hospital system. We've made those announcements; it is happening. Labor gets that Australians want to be healthy from the cradle to the grave. We understand that a healthy life is the fullest life you can live, and we're prepared to fund that, unlike those opposite.

When the Leader of the Opposition was the minister for health, he was rated one of the worst. I think he and Tony Abbott shared the crown there. So many people were just aghast at the thought of a GP tax, of cutting funding for hospitals and making it harder to see a GP. Well, the government that you have now wants to support your health ambitions, we want people to be healthier and we are putting money into health care.

The other point I want to make is that in my seat of Paterson, since we've been in government in the last three years—I hear this: 'Are you better off?'—I know that nearly 70,000 more people have been able to be bulk-billed. It's up three per cent in my seat. Around Maitland and Port Stephens we are seeing bulk-billing on the rise, and I'm really grateful and pleased for that. We're going to keep campaigning and keep fighting for our urgent care clinic, so that more people will be able to be attended to promptly. We're going to keep putting money into our hospitals, and we're going to keep supporting our doctors. We support our nurses and know that they need to be well paid.

Health care is the thing that people absolutely value, and so do we as a government. We're not going to let people down, we're going to continue to support them on their health journey, and they can rely on an Albanese government to put health first, second and third.

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

It's nice to see a female speaker talking when I'm about to speak about support for women's health, in particular. Those of us on this side of the House believe in outcomes rather than spin. Labor's rhetoric about saving Medicare and celebrating anniversaries is desperate when you compare actual outcomes, because their record is actually pathetic. Not only do they keep the Department of Health and Aged Care under the thumb and are unable to provide us or the public with data on outcomes but they manipulate departmental resources to claim bulk-billing rates are improving.

GP bulk-billing has fallen 11 per cent under the Albanese Government, to 77 per cent, while out-of-pocket costs have increased by 11 per cent—and that's just in the past year alone. To put this into perspective, the GP bulk-billing rate rose under Peter Dutton, the opposition leader, when he was the health minister, to 84 per cent, and it continued to rise under the former coalition government to 88 per cent before we left office in May 2022. But under the Albanese government Medicare is currently covering the lowest percentage of GP fees on record. On average, Australians are being forced to cover 45 per cent more of the cost from their own pocket to see a doctor than when the coalition was in government—and this is in a cost-of-living crisis.

What is happening is that people are not seeking out an appointment with their doctor, because they simply cannot afford it. This is emphasised in the regions where we have fewer doctors to go around. The maldistribution of doctors—again, another great idea by the Albanese government!—expanded the distribution priority areas, so doctors left in a flood from Modified Monash Model regions MM3 and MM7 to MM2 and even MM1. So, in the regions, we have fewer doctors to start with, and more people are having to pull out more money from their pocket to go and see their doctor, if they can get an appointment. This is a sham by the Albanese Labor government, to brag about their outcomes in Medicare.

I want, however, to speak about the women's health package. The coalition supports the government's $573.3 million package announced today, which builds on the historic work undertaken by the former coalition government in supporting women's health. We will match this women's health package, including measures to enhance menopause care for women through a new Medicare rebate; expand health professional training; develop national clinical guidelines; and increase funding for endometriosis and pelvic pain. I've got to say that this was actually brought by the previous member for Boothby, Nicolle Flint, who worked incredibly hard to see that endometriosis was raised to the level where government took it seriously. I'm really pleased to see this funding announcement made, and we welcome the government's decision to expand on this work with 11 new clinics.

Whether it is helping women who live with chronic health conditions like endometriosis, supporting women with menopause or helping families on their fertility journey, we are committed to getting the policy settings right. However, the coalition remains concerned that under the Albanese Labor government it has never been harder or more expensive for women in Australia to access critical primary care. As I said, the GP bulk-billing rate has collapsed. When the coalition left government, bulk-billing was at 88 per cent. It has now fallen to 77 per cent. Patients are now paying record-high out-of-pocket costs to see a doctor during Labor's cost-of-living crisis. This led to more than 1.5 million Australians avoiding seeing their GP in 2023-24 due to cost concerns. What is the outcome of that? What it means is that people live with chronic health conditions for a longer time, inevitably leading to more hospital admissions. While the Labor government wants to brag about the urgent care clinics— (Time expired)

Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Two great things were born in 1983—Medicare and me. But don't worry: I'll stick to talking about Medicare. You see, we're both 41, and for 41 years Medicare has been providing quality universal health care to all Australians, no matter where they live or what they earn.

Medicare is something we should all be incredibly proud of. But Medicare didn't just happen. It's something Labor has had to fight for and something we're still fighting for today. The Whitlam government first imagined it in 1971, and the Hawke government made it a reality. Ever since, Labor has stood strong to strengthen Medicare and to protect it from those who sought to tear it down.

The Liberals opposed Medicare from the start, campaigning to scrap it for four elections in a row. Even when Australians overwhelmingly supported Medicare, the Liberals tried to dismantle it.

Fast forward to today, and Labor is once again working to strengthen Medicare. When we came to government in 2022, it had never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor. Bulk-billing was in freefall after a decade of coalition cuts, including their health minister's, the Leader of the Opposition's, six-year Medicare rebate freeze. In just under three years, we have turned this around. The 2023 budget delivered a record-breaking $6.1 billion investment in Medicare, including $3½ billion to triple the bulk-billing incentive—the largest boost in Medicare's history. Bulk-billing has had an additional six million free GP visits nationwide in just 12 months, and, in New South Wales alone, 1.8 million more visits have been bulk-billed, easing the burden on families and pensioners.

Importantly, it hasn't stopped there. We've also made medicines cheaper. Get this: Australians have saved over a billion dollars on prescriptions, with prices capped at $31.60 for PBS medicines and just $7.70 for pensioners. In Bennelong, families have saved $6.3 million, delivering real cost-of-living relief when it's needed most.

And then, of course, we have our great Medicare urgent care clinics. The Top Ryde Medicare urgent care clinic has been an incredible success. It is taking pressure off our busy hospitals and providing an alternative that is free and open seven days a week, with extended hours of 8 am to 10 pm. And you don't need to just listen to me. Here is some feedback I've received directly from locals. Becky said: 'We also used the urgent care at Top Ryde on Saturday. They were fantastic. The GP on duty started my husband on the correct treatment straightaway. Excellent care.' Nicky then summed it up, saying: 'I used urgent care last night at Ryde. How fantastic! I arrived at 8.45 pm and was seen by a nurse at 8.50 pm. By 9 pm I was sitting with a doctor and by 9.20 I was back at home with my care. Amazing!'

This is what Labor governments do: we deliver services and we strengthen Medicare. These new urgent care clinics fill a gap in our health system and ensure that families get the care they need when they need it. But there's still more to do.

Locals in Lane Cove, Chatswood and surrounds have told me how important access to quality, affordable health care is to them. They also need walk-in healthcare outside of business hours, because getting sick does not follow a schedule. They need bulk-billed doctors without being forced to visit overcrowded emergency rooms and have lengthy delays. That's why I'm calling for a Medicare urgent care clinic to service Lane Cove, Chatswood and surrounding areas. This clinic would support local hospitals like Royal North Shore, taking pressure off emergency departments, and provide bulk-billed care.

With an election around the corner, it's important to compare and contrast approaches. Whilst Labor continues to invest in Medicare, the Liberals refuse to commit to keeping or expanding our urgent care clinics. The Liberals have promised huge cuts to services, but they won't tell Australians what they'll be till after the election. Well, that's not good enough. Their record gives us a good indication, though. The Leader of the Opposition's record as health minister speaks for itself. He froze Medicare rebates for six years. He cut $200 million from emergency departments. And of course he proposed a GP tax. He voted against cheaper medicines and tried to block 60-day prescriptions. And let's not forget: he cut $50 billion from public hospitals.

I'll always work to protect and strengthen Medicare. I'll keep working to protect bulk-billing and expand our urgent care clinic network, because I believe health care is a right, not a privilege. The Leader of the Opposition, on the other hand, will do the opposite. They'll wreck Medicare.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You know that the Labor Party are in trouble when they come into this place and start spruiking Medicare and start running the age-old trope that the coalition is anti-Medicare. They ran 'Mediscare' in the campaign of 2016 or 2019, which turned out to be absolute rubbish. We even had to introduce laws to try and prevent them from doing it again—but clearly that didn't work, because here they are again trying to do a big beat-up about Medicare.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I don't know about you, and I don't know about other members in this place, but the last time I went and saw a GP it cost me a significant sum of money as a co-payment—for me, and I earn good money. Those members opposite talk about strengthening Medicare, but, when they came into government, Medicare bulk-billing rates were at 88 per cent. Do you know what they are now? They are at 77 per cent. That is a big, fat fail on the part of this government.

One of the things that upsets me the most about this government's failures isn't the fact that they were 18 months late in establishing a headspace in Caloundra, when we had promised to do it when we were in government. They were 18 months late in opening that headspace. That was a big problem for me and a big problem for young people. It took me and a concerted campaign to drag the Minister for Health and Aged Care kicking and screaming to instigate a headspace in Caloundra. But that's not the big problem that I have. The big problem I have with this government and health care—and I want to welcome members from the other place into the chamber right now—is in relation to the care of, and how we deal with, people with mental health problems and mental illness. Years ago—and thankfully those days are gone by—we stuck people with mental health problems in sanatoriums and asylums. We removed them from our sight so we didn't have to look at them. Thankfully those days are over, but the treatment and care of people who live with mental health problems in this country is nothing other than an absolute disgrace.

The current health minister does not get mental health. I'm gonna say it again. The current health minister does not get mental health. Do you know who did get mental health? The former health minister, the former member for Flinders, Greg Hunt. He was an outstanding health minister and changed the way that we dealt with not only the funding but also the treatment of people with mental health conditions, whether they be very significant or mild.

I have lived through the mental health sector personally, as a family member, both in the public sector and in the private sector. The way that this country cares for people with mental health problems is an absolute disgrace. If it were any other type of illness, people would be marching in the streets. They'd be holding demonstrations. But, because it's in relation to mental health, we don't want to talk about it. We keep pushing and shoving it under the carpet. If a person with a significant mental health illness comes up to a public hospital, they are basically put on suicide watch and released into the public a couple of days later. It is an absolute disgrace, and this health minister needs to step up.

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired.