Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution on the Export Control Amendment (Streamlining Administrative Processes) Bill 2022 on behalf of the shadow agriculture minister and as a very proud National and someone who wants to see a sustainable and prosperous agriculture industry in this country, because it's not just the backbone of our country but the backbone of the regions.

But before I go to the most substantive contribution and as our chemists here leave the Senate chamber, we're having to watch a Labor Party who have been willing to turn their backs on health provisions in rural and regional Australia on the back of their 60-day dispensing legislation. They got it wrong. We have tried to say: 'Go back to the drawing board. Consult with local pharmacists. Understand how we can get the cost-of-living pressure increase relief through the dispensing arrangements but also not see a diminishing of healthcare professional services in our local regional communities.' What they are telling us is, as a result of the government's regulation in regard to this, they are going to have to lay off staff. They are going to have to minimise their hours. Webster-paks to our aged-care facilities in rural and regional communities are on the line. I could go through other things like immunisation programs, which are currently run in all local chemists right across the country. That might not seem like a big thing if you live in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane, but where I live and the people I represent live the chemist is often your only healthcare professional in town. They don't just dispense medicine. They offer a free counselling service.