Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Santoro, the Minister for Ageing, representing the Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister advise the Senate of what the government is doing to provide improved medical services to people living in rural and regional Australia? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Scullion for his question, knowing that he has a very special interest in matters that affect rural and regional residents, particularly in the area of health care. The Howard government has invested money to make the health system certainly a better one than it was when we took over from the Labor Party, and rural and regional Australians have benefited tremendously from the policies implemented by the Howard government.

The Minister for Health and Ageing announced last month that the number of qualified doctors and nurses has significantly increased during the years as a result of Commonwealth government initiatives. Since Strengthening Medicare began, approximately 750 practices have begun to employ nurses. There are 480 additional students in university medical schools, an extra 189 doctors are GP registrars, there are 549 more overseas trained doctors practising in Australia, there are 1,860 more temporary resident doctors who have accessed the new four-year visa, and bulk-billing rates in rural and remote areas have increased by 15.8 percentage points to 68.6 per cent.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s a very good record.

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a very good record. I acknowledge the interjection by Senator Abetz, who also has a keen interest in rural and regional health matters, particularly from a Tasmanian perspective. Looking specifically at the rural health strategy that is being implemented by this government, which is worth $830 million, there are currently 116 regional health services around Australia providing community nursing and allied health services to more than 1,000 communities. Under the More Allied Health Services Program, Divisions of General Practice are employing allied health professionals and are linking them with general practitioners so that doctors in rural and remote communities can focus on general practice.

Under the Medical Specialist Outreach Assistance Program, assistance is provided to medical specialists so that they can deliver outreach services to people living in rural and remote areas. From this year, the Howard government is offering scholarships under the Rural Allied Health Undergraduate Scholarships Scheme. There will be 65 scholarships in 2006, rising to more than 180 in three years. This is important, because, if health professionals come from the country, they are more likely to work in the country. In addition, thanks to the government’s $1.1 billion Medicare safety net, more than 1.5 million people around Australia will continue to receive good health care regardless of where they live. The government has a very good record of delivering better health services in country areas, thanks to the measures that I have outlined, and the Australian public is recognising that good work.

Turning to whether I have any indication of what the alternative policies are, the Labor Party basically has two health policies. One is Medicare Gold and the other is to abolish the 30 per cent rebate which provides financial assistance to some 10 million Australians who take out private health insurance. Those opposite would sabotage that if they were to get their hands on the wheels of running the country. Kim Beazley, the Leader of the Opposition, has barely mentioned health since becoming opposition leader, and this year the shadow spokesman for health, Julia Gillard, has asked only a handful of health related questions. So insignificant is health to the Leader of the Opposition that he has not asked even one question. Medicare Gold is the only policy they have. This was an unfunded and utterly embarrassing faux pas by the Labor Party prior to the last election. It was rejected overwhelmingly by the people of Australia at the last election, and I am sure that I will have a lot more to say on it in the future.