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

Of course, they can complain about that not being the position, but that is the position that will eventuate. They have been provided with very clear advice. That will be the effect of their actions, let there be no mistake about it. That is the position that the Senate will adopt if it supports the disallowance motion. It is not about putting patients first; it is about putting the interests of a group of specialists first, a group which earns over half a million dollars a year from Medicare alone.

As I indicated, I am not going to extend the debate on this any longer than necessary. In dealing with one other matter, the impact on waiting lists, in the rant that was provided by Senator Cormann, who covered a range of matters that were in some part related and in other parts unrelated to the debate that is before us, it is important to remember that the impact of the decision is purely dependent on whether ophthalmologists mitigate their charging practices. If Senator Cormann wants to talk about the real world than he should also understand how the real world operates. It is important to remember that they are earning more than half a million dollars from Medicare alone and will still be doing so after this change. That is before any gap fees or private health insurance contributions. We know the community wants government to fund new medicines, new technologies and new services, which means that, when new technologies lead to efficiencies, the funding should be adjusted accordingly. That is the real world; that is how it operates. Of course, there is not a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow for Senator Cormann to draw upon.