Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the past 18 months, the Albanese Labor government has continually labelled the crisis engulfing primary health care as everybody else's problem. It was the responsibility first of the former coalition government, then of the state governments and then even of the private sector. But excuses do nothing for the burnt-out GPs struggling financially in regional towns, who feel unheard and ignored by this government.

In the rural electorate of Lyons, in my home state of Tasmania, at least 10 GP surgeries have closed or reduced their hours in the past 18 months. These are in towns like St Marys, whose sole GP resigned due to burnout. The residents of Ouse have been without a permanent GP for over a year. Greenpoint Medical Services in Bridgewater, which services 8,000 clients in the area, recently announced their intention to close due to financial viability issues. It turns out that their problems have been known to the member for Lyons for over 12 months, yet he has done nothing to assist them. The Albanese Labor government talks up its bulk-billing initiative in support of GPs; however, bulk-billing rates have decreased every month since Labor took government. They are now at the lowest level since 2013, and there is no guarantee that there will be any increase in bulk-billing as a result of the initiative.

In the absence of meaningful leadership from the Labor government, the Tasmanian Liberal government and Health Minister Guy Barnett have had to step in to find innovative solutions to support these communities. At St Marys the minister has secured the services of Ochre Health, who have agreed to open a private practice. Similarly, he is in negotiations with service providers to find solutions for Ouse and Bridgewater. The Tasmanian government also developed the nation-leading single employer model being rolled out across the country, and it recently committed $4.3 million for the Rural Medical Workforce Centre at the Mersey Community Hospital.

The provision of primary health care is a federal responsibility. It's time the Albanese Labor government stepped up to deliver practical solutions to this crisis and deliver on their promises to Australians.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Few things matter more to Australian families than being able to see their doctor. Especially when it's your little ones who are unwell, getting in to see a GP you know, and quickly, is so important. I've been there myself, with a little one feverish or with a cough that just won't shift, and feeling worried, anxious and desperate for the reassurance my GP can give or the extra support I need.

For many in our community, not only getting that appointment quickly but having it bulk-billed is absolutely critical. But the fact is that, after some six years of frozen Medicare rebates under the former coalition government, our GPs are under pressure and too many families are unable to access the bulk-billed appointments they need. That's why our government is making the biggest investment in bulk-billing in the 40-year history of Medicare. Through our tripling of the bulk-billing incentive, 11 million Australians should now find it easier to see a bulk-billing doctor. They include five million children and their families and around seven million pensioners and other concession card holders. It represents about three out of every five GP visits in Australia. This will make a massive difference to Australian families.

Our government is making the largest investment in bulk-billing in the history of Medicare, and we're making it because Australian families have been finding it too hard to see a doctor, our doctors have been under pressure, and our health system has been under strain.

The contrast to the opposition couldn't be starker. We should never forget they froze Medicare rebates for six or seven years, making bulk-billing less accessible. We should never forget that, in the one year that Peter Dutton was Minister for Health, he drove Medicare to its worst state in 40 years. And we should never forget the $7 GP tax they wanted to install, which would have destroyed Medicare forever. Labor built Medicare. We'll always fight for it, and we'll always work to strengthen it for the benefit of Australian families.