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

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Under the Albanese Labor government, 27,000 small businesses have collapsed since the last election. Minister, how many GP clinics have closed since the election of the Albanese Labor government?

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

I'll take that question on notice and see if I can get an answer to the member in precise detail, but I will say that I've said since before the last election and since that the state of general practice when we came to government was its most parlous in 41 years. Bulk-billing was in freefall, and, as I've said once or twice at this dispatch box before, they were suffering through the impact of a six-year freeze on the Medicare rebate. Those opposite, particularly the Leader of the Opposition, when he was health minister, decided to freeze the income of general practices, while their costs continued to rise. Unsurprisingly, they come under very real pressure.

Over the last 24 hours, I've signed off on the third increase in the Medicare rebate since we came to government. Of the three increases, we've delivered the biggest, the second biggest and the third biggest increases in the Medicare rebate in more than 30 years, since Paul Keating was the Prime Minister.

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

The member for Bowman is warned.

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

The deputy leader of the Liberal Party, when she was health minister, did not deliver a single increase to the Medicare rebate. Of course, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was health minister, froze the Medicare rebate. So, yes, general practice has been under a little bit of pressure.

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

The minister will pause. The manager is going to take his point of order now.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is on relevance. The question was very tight. The minister has stated that he doesn't know the answer and that he will endeavour to get an answer. That doesn't now mean he can stray into areas that aren't relevant to the question.

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

The minister does have three minutes to answer the question. I agree with the manager, and he has indicated that he will take the details on notice, but he will need to remain relevant to the question. He was asked about small businesses and the specifics around how many GP clinics have closed, so he will need to talk about GP clinics, not necessarily the opposition policies, otherwise I will have to sit him down.

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

All of that is why, when we came to government, I made it very clear that of all the myriad pressures on our healthcare system—and with an ageing population, more chronic disease and the impacts of a once-in-a-century pandemic, there are many pressures on our healthcare system—the one we have focused on more than any other is rebuilding general practice. I will come back to the member with that precise number, but let's be very clear—I'm sure the member knows this in her heart of hearts—no government has valued general practice more than this government. No government has invested more in general practice than this government. As for the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, the worst and the second-worst health ministers in the history of Medicare, we're more than happy to keep debating this issue.

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

The member for Page is now warned.