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

We are working through all of these unfunded programs that are ongoing. It has created significant pressure on the budget, which is precisely why they were dealt with in this way: to make the budget look better than it actually was by having ongoing programs terminate and not impact in the later years of the forward estimates. So we are working through those.

We also know that health care wasn't a priority for the former government. They stopped the indexation of GP visits for six years, and that is what has led to a lot of the crisis facing primary care. We are seeing GP surgeries close around the country. People are finding it harder to get in, and when they do get in they are paying more for seeing the doctor because of the crisis that was factored in over a long period of time. (Time expired)