Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

That was a lovely speech by Senator O'Neill, and I always admire Senator O'Neill's rhetoric, but let's look at the facts. The facts are these. When the coalition government left office, the bulk-billing rate was 88 per cent. The bulk-billing rate has now fallen to 77 per cent—it has actually fallen. It has gone from 88 per cent to 77 per cent, so it has fallen 11 per cent—fact.

Here's another fact. Over 1.5 million Australians—just reflect on that—didn't go to a GP in 2023-24, because of concerns about costs. In the Albanese Labor government's cost-of-living crisis, over 1.5 million Australians in 2023-24 chose not to go to a GP, because of costs. That's the impact of the Albanese Labor government: people aren't going to see their GP, because they're concerned about the cost. That's another fact.

I want to talk to you about the results of a survey in relation to the region where my senator's office is located, the greater Ipswich region. In 2022-23, in the greater Ipswich region, an outer suburban area in South-East Queensland, the bulk-billing rate—that's the number of clinics with available slots for new patients—when the coalition left office was 59.5 per cent. In 2023-24 it fell to 37.8 per cent. Only 17 out of 45 clinics with available spaces were providing bulk-billing. We now find, with the latest statistics released by Cleanbill, that the percentage has fallen further. It is now at 30 per cent. So in 2022-23, shortly after the coalition government, there was 59.5 per cent bulk-billing in the greater Ipswich region. Fast forward a few years to 2024-25 and it has gone from 59.5 per cent to 30 per cent. That is why in the last year 1.5 million Australians were so concerned about costs that they didn't go and see their GP. That is the direct result of the Albanese Labor government's cost-of-living crisis. Only 15 out of 50 clinics in the Ipswich region and the Somerset region, in the greater Ipswich region where my office is located, provide bulk-billing. What a devastating figure!

I can tell you that in our region there are a lot of people who are doing it tough. The most recent analysis undertaken by the University of New South Wales for the Four Corners program that aired recently looked at household financial stress across the whole of Australia. It found that over three out of four households in the greater Ipswich region are under financial stress. Over 77 per cent are in financial distress, and that means that those households are barely covering the necessities of life: housing, clothing and food. That is why you have 1.5 million Australians not seeing their GP; they're concerned about the cost.

You'll hear a lot of rhetoric from the other side about the money that's been spent: 'We've done this. We've done that.' But when you look at the raw figures, those figures don't lie. The Cleanbill survey was conducted by an independent organisation that contacted 6,925 GP clinics across Australia. It found that the bulk-billing rate in the Ipswich region and the Somerset region had fallen from 59.5 per cent a few years ago to 30 per cent. So the figures don't lie: the bulk-billing rates under Labor are falling.