Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the moment, graduates have 18 years to complete an obligatory three years of practice in a regional area in exchange for a Commonwealth supported place in a medical course. It should be reduced to seven years, and the government needs to consider ways to recover the taxpayer contribution to graduate studies if they don't meet their regional obligation.

All Australians should be able to afford and access quality medical care, regardless of where they live. The taxpayers have funded this, there's a scheme put out and these students have taken it up. They suggest they will go and work in regional and regional areas, they're given 18 years to do that and they haven't taken it up. Only 500 have actually done it out of thousands. Why are we funding these students? Why hasn't the government chased it up and said, 'You made an obligation, the taxpayers have funded you now; why haven't you done your duty?' I am calling on this government now to look at that obligation, reduce it to seven years and make sure that doctors are actually given the jobs in rural and regional areas to look after all Australians as well.