David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

What my amendment would do would be to remove something which is quite unnecessary in this bill we are considering. The rest of the bill is fine, but this rather sneaky little provision removes the June 2020 sunset clause that regulates the location of pharmacies and establishes whether an application to establish one can be granted.

There have been seven reviews, if I'm correct, since 2000 into these Pharmacy Location Rules. I don't think any of them have found the Pharmacy Location Rules to be well founded. Certainly the Productivity Commission didn't think so. The Grattan Institute has warned about a 15-year cycle of review that's creating 'public cynicism and disengagement'. It argues:

Pharmacy regulation is overdue for reform, not further review with implementation stymied by vested interests.

The Department of Health, on the other hand, says:

The Location Rules ensure that the community pharmacy sector remains viable and able to meet consumers' needs throughout Australia, including … in rural and remote areas …

It just defies logic. The Australian Medical Association says pharmacy rules are unnecessary. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia says, yes, the pharmacy rules are necessary, but on the other hand 'they prevent our members from establishing pharmacies'. Indeed, the only industry group that the committee heard from that thinks the pharmacy rules are a good idea is the Pharmacy Guild. The Pharmacy Guild is comprised of existing pharmacy owners—so, as someone once famously said, 'You would expect them to say that, wouldn't you?' It defies belief that an industry organisation, the Pharmacy Guild, can determine, under both the Liberals and Labor, that existing pharmacies are entitled to be protected from competition by location rules on the fig-leaf justification that somehow or other people in regional and rural areas will have better access to pharmaceuticals as a consequence. It is absolute nonsense, and review after review has said it is nonsense. The only ones who don't say it's nonsense are the Pharmacy Guild. I cannot believe the government is falling for this nonsense.