Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move opposition amendments (1) to (5) on sheet 1799 together:

(1) Schedule 2, item 30, page 19 (line 7), omit "commence", substitute "cause to be conducted independent".

(2) Schedule 2, item 30, page 19 (line 9), omit "2026", substitute "2025".

(3) Schedule 2, item 30, page 19 (line 10), omit "2029", substitute "2028".

(4) Schedule 2, item 30, page 19 (after line 10), after subsection 144-20(1), insert:

(1A) Each review must consider, and make recommendations to the Commonwealth Government about, the expansion of the policy implemented by this Division to other sectors of high skills need in rural, remote and very remote Australia, including the health, mental health and education sectors.

(1B) Each review should consult with rural and remote communities and their health, mental health and education service providers and specifically, the following must be consulted as part of each review:

(a) the National Rural Health Commissioner;

(b) the Regional Education Commissioner.

(5) Schedule 2, item 30, page 19 (line 13), at the end of subsection 144-20(2), add "within 3 months of the commencement of the relevant review".

I will speak very briefly about what these amendments actually do. There are a couple of things I want to highlight. The most important is this need for a review to occur after a period of two years. That specific period of time is important, because it enables there to be enough of a duration of time to examine what changes will occur behaviourally, I suppose you could say, once the amendments come into effect, in relation to doctors and nurse practitioners: whether the effect is actually taking place and we're getting the desired outcome.

Secondly, the amendments ask for the review team to specifically examine whether or not the measures that are proposed for doctors and nurse practitioners should apply to other professions, which I think is important. We know that there are issues elsewhere across the employment world. There are shortages, in particular, in regional and remote areas. These amendments call for an examination of other health measures, particularly in mental health and the education sector. I commend the amendments to the Senate.