Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

Labor has delivered a budget for all Australians—a budget that delivers a back-to-back surplus that will help reduce cost-of-living pressure and continues our commitment to improving the health system. This budget delivers tax cuts for every taxpayer and a $300 energy rebate. It also gives Australians cheaper medicines and makes it easier to see a doctor and access health care when most needed.

I'm particularly pleased the budget includes measures to improve the health and wellbeing of First Nations people. We know there is much work to be done to close the gap, but there are many important measures in this budget as part of a $160 million package. Australians have already saved more than $370 million since we introduced 60-day prescriptions and reduced the PBS co-payment last year. This budget will deliver even cheaper medicines for First Nations peoples.

We're expanding access to the Closing the Gap PBS co-payment for eligible First Nations people and investing $11.1 million. This will now apply to all Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines dispensed by a pharmacy, public or private hospital, or approved medical practitioner. This means all eligible First Nations people who are registered on the Closing the Gap database will get their PBS medicines for free if they have a Commonwealth concession card. If they don't have a concession card, they will still pay only a discounted co-payment rate of $7.70. Those not registered will still benefit from the freeze on the maximum Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme—PBS—co-payments. There will be a freeze for up to five years for concession cardholders and a one-year freeze for everyone else with a Medicare card. I certainly know this will make a real difference for many First Nations people.

The budget includes funding for more Medicare urgent care clinics. We've already delivered 58, and now we'll see that number grow to 87. In the Northern Territory, there have been more than 10,000 visits to the urgent care clinics on Larrakia country in Darwin and on the lands of the Arrernte people in Mparntwe, Alice Springs. Urgent care clinics will give more First Nations people better access to bulk-billed urgent care for conditions that are urgent but not life threatening without having to go to a hospital emergency department.

We know that, without a strong and growing health workforce, the impact of these investments will be affected. That's why the budget includes a suite of measures to build and strengthen the health workforce. I'm particularly pleased there are a number of important measures to grow and support the First Nations health workforce. First Nations health professionals play a critical role in delivering health care that is culturally safe and responsive to community needs and, ultimately, delivers better outcomes for First Nations people.

In this budget, the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association will receive $4 million to continue to improve cultural safety, increase engagement and support First Nations doctors to become medical specialists. We've seen some great outcomes with the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association. Recently, in a visit to the Torres Strait Islands that I made, I was able to see firsthand the 20 graduates, Torres Strait doctors, who come together on the Torres Strait not only to learn about Torres Strait culture but also to share their experiences in the medical world.

I'd like to share with the Senate that 20 years ago, when they had the first Torres Strait Islander doctor, it was an incredible challenge to think that we could try and grow the number of Torres Strait doctors. Now we have over 120 Torres Strait doctors. I commend the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association for the work it's doing. We also see over 800 Indigenous doctors—of course, a large component of Aboriginal doctors—just 38 of whom are in the Northern Territory.

We're also boosting the Lowitja O'Donoghue Foundation scholarships in enrolled nursing for undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students by $600,000. These investments will mean First Nations people will be supported to choose a career in nursing and deliver high-quality care to patients. In Darwin last week, alongside the member for Solomon Luke Gosling and with the support of the member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour, I announced $24.6 million in funding for Charles Darwin University to establish and operate a medical school and $3.4 million for the Northern Territory Medical Program to boost the number of doctors in the Northern Territory.

We certainly heard firsthand from staff and students about how much of a game changer this investment will be for them and for the Northern Territory. One student, Thevini Abeywardana, talked about how excited she was about the news. She said:

It gives a lot of students the opportunity to stay close to family and friends, and being in an environment that they already know and are comfortable in.

I'll be able to learn medicine, and then go to regional and remote communities and help out the communities there.

Supporting students like Thevinito study, graduate and then work in the health sector is going to help reduce the impact of health issues that disproportionately affect First Nations people, particularly those in remote communities.

This budget will support First Nations women and girls. Making professional indemnity insurance for midwives more available will safeguard culturally safe Birthing on Country services for First Nations mothers, with an investment of $3.5 million. Women and girls in rural and remote First Nations communities will also get free menstrual products like pads and tampons, and we're investing $12.5 million to ensure this happens across the country. These can be expensive and hard to get, and providing them for free will support girls and women to go on with their daily lives. I commend the Aboriginal community health sector for their support and advise on all of these initiatives, in particular NACCHO.

This budget builds on the significant investments our government has made in First Nations health and wellbeing over the last two years. We've invested $5.1 billion under the Indigenous Australians Health Program for projects that directly support First Nations people to achieve the health outcomes that they want to see for their families. These projects are things like community controlled health services, infrastructure projects, new renal dialysis clinics in remote communities, and maternal and child health programs to support families to give their children the best, healthiest start to life. Our government has made $988.6 million of new investments since coming into government, and we're continuing to deliver on our commitments, including supporting 500 new health workers. The numbers are promising. Across the country more than 250 students are already enrolled in the program with 40 having completed it so far, and we only began 18 months ago.

Finally, this budget demonstrates the Albanese government's commitment to closing the gap, and we're making a landmark investment in new remote jobs and housing. The Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program is grounded in self-determination and will be rolled out in partnership with First Nations communities. In fact, those consultations are occurring now across the regions where the Community Development Program has previously been established, and we are seeking to transfer from that program into the new jobs program.

The historic 10-year housing agreement with the Northern Territory government will see 270 houses built each year. We know this will go towards reducing overcrowding—a huge issue for First Nations communities, but also a major health issue, in terms of what we're trying to do to reduce the health problems and close the gap.

I was out at Maningrida just last week actually, with Minister Linda Burney, to look at the new homes for families and also the significant work that we're doing towards improving water quality. All of these measures will make a significant difference to the lives of First Nations Australians.