Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Let me finish my statement as to where I am going there. The extended Medicare safety net was introduced in 2004. The legislation introduced by the previous government at that time included a requirement for a review of the operation, effectiveness and implications of the act by an independent academic institution. The Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation at the University of Technology, Sydney, has been contracted by the department of health to undertake the review. It is expected that that review will be completed in mid-2009. The review report will be tabled in both houses of parliament. I note that the recently released interim report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission has indicated it will do more work on the safety net.

The government recognises that in the current economic climate many families are under significant pressure. For that reason the Rudd government is committed to retaining the Medicare safety net. The Rudd government is also committed to ensuring that the Medicare safety net meets its objective, which is to make necessary medical services more affordable to Australians. The point that we have made is that in this area we have done the hard work, we have looked at what we can do, and the government has recognised that in this current economic climate many families are under significant economic pressure—unlike those on the other side who seem to ignore the whole issue completely. This government is committed to retaining the Medicare safety net. Those opposite might be able to, in their question, indicate what they intend their policies will be when they—(Time expired)