Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Pratt for the question and for a rare question on health in this chamber. We know, after almost a decade of cuts and neglect from those opposite, it's never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor. Our government is being upfront with Australians about the state of our health care system because this crisis didn't just spring from thin air or happen overnight. It's the result of decisions made by the former government—a former government whose priority was to cut Medicare.

Instead of funding critical health programs, they chose to put hundreds of measures in the budget on a time line to be cut. For example, the My Health Record system, a system that looks after the health records of 23 million Australians, runs out of funding on 30 June this year—no money for My Health Record. For 23 million Australians' health records, they just switched the money off. There is no money for public dental and adult dental services beyond 30 June. Do those opposite honestly think that adults will not have dental problems on 1 July this year? That is really the reason why they would budget for them in this way.

We shouldn't be surprised, because the Leader of the Opposition was, I think, voted the worst health minister in 35 years in a poll of 1,100 doctors, because he wanted to put in place a GP tax, he wanted to increase the price of medicine and he even wanted emergency departments to start charging for seeing people. That is what we had under those opposite, and we are getting around to cleaning up the mess that has been left behind.