Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to address this matter of public importance that has been raised by Senator Moore on behalf of the Labor Party. As a member of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee, I am happy to speak on this MPI because it provides an opportunity to remind the Senate how, after six years of Labor's waste and inefficiency in health, the coalition is moving to repair the damage and ensure Australia's health system remains effective and sustainable into the future.

Contrary to the assertions of those opposite, this government's measures are laying the foundations for a stronger health system for all Australians. The simple but, I know, very uncomfortable truth for those opposite is that health expenditure is growing faster than the economy. This is unsustainable for Australian taxpayers. Despite assertions to the contrary by the previous speaker, central to our election campaign was dealing with the budget mess those opposite left us—$123 billion in projected deficit. It does exist, no matter how often they now try to deny it.

I believe all in this place have an obligation on behalf of all Australians to ensure that their taxpayer funds are most effectively and efficiently spent and that the expenditure matches revenue. I believe this is the most responsible approach for all of us in this place to take. The growth in health expenditure has been so rapid that the Commission of Audit saw health as the Commonwealth's single largest long-term budget challenge. To give you all an example of the exponential rise in the healthcare system, 10 years ago the government spent $8 billion on Medicare. This financial year, the government is spending $20 billion. This is projected to rise to more than $34 billion in 10 years time. Put simply, this is unsustainable growth.

Unlike the previous government, this government are putting in place a number of measures to address this unsustainability and are moving to modernise and strengthen both Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. On this side, we are ensuring the continued sustainability of Medicare and ensuring it is able to provide first-class health care to future generations of Australians. Yes, we are asking Australians to make a small contribution to the cost of their own health care, but again I remind those opposite that we were not the first to consider this. In fact, it was the Labor Party that first introduced a Medicare co-payment in 1991.

I listened very closely to the evidence presented at the recent community affairs committee hearings, and I am left wondering if I was at the same hearings as those opposite. In the recent committee inquiry, we heard evidence from a number of stakeholders on the out-of-pocket health costs in Australia. Significantly, we heard from the Australian Medical Association that:

In the decade to 2012–13, the percentage of medical services attracting out-of-pocket costs has either stayed the same or declined.

I will say that again: it has stayed the same or declined. That was the evidence from the AMA.

We also heard from the Department of Health. They advised that the proportion of total health expenditure funded by out-of-pocket payments in 2011-12 was largely unchanged from that of a decade ago. That is despite the fact that today in Australia these out-of-pocket expenses include in their definition cosmetic surgery, complementary medicines, complementary therapies and a range of vitamins and supplements. The Department of Health also noted that the largest and fastest growing area of out-of-pocket expenses or costs is in the non-prescription and over-the-counter medicines; this includes complementary medicines and vitamins. These are nearly a third of the total out-of-pocket expenses. Evidence to the community affairs committee also shows that the claim by those opposite, that health care expenditure is increasing dramatically for the average Australian, is simply not true.

I have to address one of the things the previous speaker noted. She was attributing people not going to the doctor or to fill their prescriptions to these proposed changes. The evidence to the community affairs committee hearings was that clearly, that was not the case; there are many reasons people delay filling their prescriptions or going to the doctor.

The government is also ensuring the sustainability of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. In the last decade alone, the cost of the PBS has increased by a staggering 80 per cent. It is expected to continue to increase by four to five per cent annually. A PBS co-payment is not a new measure. It has existed since the 1960s and Labor has, until now, consistently supported this policy. Again, in the community affairs committee hearings, we heard that the alarmist rhetoric of those opposite was in fact unsupported by the facts. The department advised us that for general patients, the increase amounts to $5 per script and for a concessional patient, 80c per script. The department also advised that this will amount to an average increase per year of $10 for general or non-concessional patients. I will say that again: an increase of $10 for the average, general nonconcessional patient and $13.60 for those with a concession card. That is very different from what you have heard from those on the other side of the chamber today.

Most people would agree that this is a small price to pay—I say again, $10 per year or $13.60 per year—for the long-term sustainability of the PBS. Despite what you might believe from what has been said on the other side of the chamber, in the 12 short months since coming to government the coalition has already listed 220 new medicines on the PBS. We are listing medicines twice as fast as the previous government, now averaging over 20 listings per month. This can only be good for Australians. Where previously a patient would have had to pay full price for these medicines, they can now get them through the PBS.

The simple fact is the coalition government is working to ensure the health system is sustainable for future generations of Australians. We are also working towards cleaning up the fiscal mess that was left behind by the Labor government. In opposing the government's health reform measures, Labor's irresponsibility in government continues. These reforms proposed by the government will ensure that all Australians have access to world-class health care. This government is committed to ensuring we spend precious health dollars in the most efficient way possible, ensuring every dollar of taxpayers' money is directed towards improving patient outcomes. We are committed to ending the wasteful and inefficient spending in the health portfolio incurred under the previous government and we are modernising and strengthening the health system for all Australians. The reality is that those on the other side, who created this mess, are now refusing to let us clean it up.