Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing Minister for Health and Aged Care, Senator Gallagher. The Distribution Priority Area classification system has been crucial in supporting the movement of general practitioners to rural, regional and remote areas to address workforce shortages. However, the Albanese government's decision to expand the DPA means that outer metropolitan areas now have the same priority status as rural and remote parts of the country, where critical GP shortages are being felt the hardest. The Rural Doctors Association of Australia has stated that this policy change 'will cost lives of rural and remote patients who already suffer poorer health outcomes'. Can the minister please explain what advice formed the basis of your government's decision to expand the DPA classifications and whether you consulted with the RDAA, whose members are the ones most impacted by this decision?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ruston for the question. I will come back to the chamber on the specifics of the minister's engagement and consultations, but I can say that I know that Minister Butler consults very widely and is working very closely with general practice and groups representing particular arms of general practice, or health care broadly, as he works through the reforms that we want to implement. On the program around the designated status, or distribution priority, areas, we have expanded that because there are shortages in a whole range of areas. That's the reality.

Primary care is under enormous stress, and there are workforce shortages in outer metropolitan areas, in metropolitan areas and in rural and regional areas for sure. That is why in October there was a response to rural and regional health in the budget, which had a specific measure, a rural general practice package, to make sure there are innovative models of care being trialled across rural general practice, to make sure there are more training placements under the John Flynn program and to look at extra incentives for doctors and nurses to go into and work in rural and regional areas. We're looking at this across the board. Yes, there are enormous pressures in rural and regional areas. There are enormous pressures in primary care. You talk to any GP at the moment and they will tell you how hard it is with workforce, how they run their businesses and the pressure that we are trying to respond to through the strengthening Medicare fund and some of the other responses—the urgent-care clinics, as well—that are all designed to assess general practice. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ruston, a first supplementary?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Warrumbungle Shire Council stated that your government minister's decision to expand the DPA classifications will likely mean people in rural and remote communities will have to travel hundreds of kilometres to receive medical attention. When asked in budget estimates whether the government had consulted with rural, regional and remote communities before making this decision on DPA classifications, Senator McCarthy said no. Minister, can you confirm that the Albanese government did not consult with these communities before making these decisions?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've already said I will come back on the specifics of the consultation, but I do know that we've got the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce, and there's a range of consultative mechanisms that Minister Butler has put in place to deal with the pressures that we inherited from your term in government. The reality is that you don't have a primary care crisis happen over two months. This has been building for years. The workforce shortages have been building for years. We had an inquiry that, I think, Senator Green chaired—you chaired it, didn't you, Senator Green?—into this specific matter, which made recommendations in order to deal with some of the pressures that were experienced on your watch. There is more to do, but we also have to deal with workforce shortages in other areas of the country. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ruston, a second supplementary?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When asked in question time in the House about the number of rural towns that have lost a GP because of the decision of your government to change the DPA classifications, Minister Butler refused to answer the question. Does Minister Butler know the number of rural towns that have been negatively impacted by this decision? If not, why not?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The decision is about creating additional workforce—that is behind the decision, right?—so that these other areas that are having trouble attracting GPs are able to work through the program. Yes, we accept that there are significant workforce shortages in rural and regional areas—and it's not just GPs but a whole range of health workers—but we also have them in other areas of the country, and we need to respond to that as well. Part of the reason we are putting in the urgent-care clinics; the $220 million grants program for GPs to put in place supports in their practices to help meet some of the pressures they are seeing, plus some of the other incentive programs is to come at this from a number of different ways. There is no silver bullet. (Time expired)