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

Thank you for that, Minister. I'm Chair of the Select Committee on Red Tape, which recently examined this issue in an inquiry, and the committee was told much the same thing. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the same people wrote the submission to the committee as just wrote your response to my question. But the committee was unable to determine how restricting the right to establish or preventing the establishment of clusters of pharmacies in metropolitan areas would somehow help access to pharmaceuticals in rural and regional areas. Nobody was able to provide a coherent answer to that question. On the other side of the equation, of course, is that clusters of pharmacies are not inherently bad. Indeed, clusters of food shops often result in better choice and lower prices. Clusters of clothing shops are not at all uncommon and similarly result in better choice and lower prices. So I'm wondering if you've been provided an answer to the question as to how avoiding clusters of pharmacies in metropolitan areas somehow helps access to pharmaceutical medicines in rural and regional areas.