Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Gallagher. Your government went to the election with a promise to prioritise Australians' access to health care and reduce the cost of medicines. Given that promise, why has the Albanese government decided to remove an innovative life-changing form of insulin, Fiasp, from the PBS, sending the price soaring to unaffordable levels for 15,000 Australians with diabetes who rely on it?

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

I thank Senator Liddle for the question. Senator Liddle is right in her question about our commitments to improving access to health care, improving Medicare and dealing with the crisis in primary care, which is another of those issues that were left to us after 10 years of neglect and dysfunction from those opposite, when it was harder to see a doctor and more expensive to access health care. We are doing everything we can to reduce the price of medicines. In fact, the change that came in on 1 January has reduced the price of most pharmaceuticals from $42 a script to $30 a script.

In relation to the insulin medication that Senator Liddle has raised, this was a decision of PBAC, which is an independent expert body which advises the Australian government about the listings of medicine and comprises experts in the fields of medicine, health, economics, social policy, health technology and pharmacology. The health minister was made aware on 22 February of the company's intention to delist this medication from the PBS from 1 April. We understand that this is causing concern for people who are using that medication. The minister has asked his department to work with the company to look at resolving the matter. The PBAC has advised that, due to the availability of other medicines, the removal of this particular medication from the PBS will not result in unmet clinical need. (Time expired)

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

Senator Liddle, a first supplementary?

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

So you're doing nothing.

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

Senator Ruston, you've got one of your own senators on her feet, ready to ask a question. Senator Liddle, please continue.

Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, your government went to the election with a promise to prioritise Australians' access to health care and make it easier to see a doctor, which is particularly important for rural, regional and remote Australians. Given that promise, why has the Albanese Labor government ripped GPs out of rural, regional and remote Australia by changing the distribution priority areas for overseas trained doctors, making it harder for millions of Australians in those areas to see a doctor?

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

With respect, Senator Liddle's question is not correct in saying that Labor has ripped GPs out of areas. That is simply not true.

Honestly, to have the interjections from Senator Ruston, who was a member of the ERC that sat there and watched while Medicare fell into crisis and areas like workforce were not dealt with while there were delays through the immigration system for health professionals to come here—we are now fixing and cleaning that up—

The interjections are outrageous! Honestly! It's like she hopes that everyone has amnesia from nine years of failure. Well, we remember. We remember, Senator Ruston, what you did to the healthcare system in this country. Minister Butler and this government are fixing it. We're fixing it bit by bit, with a bigger workforce, with difficult decisions, with looking at where we can make investments and looking at how we can fix primary care and ensure that people in regional and rural Australia have access— (Time expired)

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

Senator Liddle, second supplementary?

Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, another promise was to prioritise Australians access to health care and protect Medicare. Given that promise, why has the Albanese Labor government slashed Medicare subsidised mental health support in half, removing access to psychology sessions from the Australians who need the most support? Why are you breaking promises on medicines, country doctors, Medicare and mental health?

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

The question is wrong on all three issues.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

It is! It's wrong!

Opposition senators interjecting—

We get what you're doing. You ask incorrect questions and then I get to answer them, which is what I'm doing now.

We are the party of Medicare. We are the party that built Medicare; we are the party that will save Medicare. We are the party that will make investments in health care. We will make medicines cheaper. We will have new models of care, like urgent care centres. Are you opposed to those as well? Is the 'no-alition' opposed to those as well?

We will make it easier to bring in a workforce that we so desperately need in this country. You had failed to do that and left millions of people with visas waiting to come into the country. We're fixing the backlog to try to ensure that the people Senator Liddle raises, people living in rural and regional Australia, actually get the health care they deserve because it declined so badly under your watch! That's exactly we're doing! (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.