Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was interesting to listen to the contribution from Senator Scarr because I think maybe Senator Scarr and those opposite forget that, when they were last in government, they acted on advice that was provided by the expert Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. Similar advice on this very matter was provided to the previous government five years ago, but that advice was ignored. For five years, as a result of the previous government's inertia, millions of Australians have been shelling out twice as much as they needed to for medications. The previous government were happy to see families, pensioners and people with chronic health conditions pay more for their medicines, ignoring the advice from many health experts around this country. Federal Labor is making medicines cheaper for millions of Australians, and we're very proud to do so. We know that making medicines cheaper is good, not just for the hip pockets of Australians but it's also good for their health. At a time where there are increasing cost-of-living pressures, I think this is a reasonable policy to put to the Australian people, through our budget, in terms of why we're addressing the Medicare and medicines fiascos that were left by those opposite.

Just to be clear, too: it sounds like those opposite are saying that this government hasn't consulted. That's far from the truth. In fact, not only have we consulted but there's a list of many health professions right across the country which support our policy: Arthritis Australia, Diabetes Australia, the health foundation, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the National Rural Health Alliance, the Rural Doctors Association, the Council on the Ageing and the Breast Cancer Network Australia. Plus, the Australian Medical Association has said that this policy is a win for patients and:

It should lead to better medicines adherence and ultimately better health outcomes, with reduced pressure on the health system.

Further, the president of the—