Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very glad to speak to this matter of public importance, because, despite the disgraceful 'Mediscare' scare campaign run by Labor on the Central Coast at the last federal election, health care is a very positive story that the coalition government can tell on the Central Coast. Far from what members opposite would have people believe, the Central Coast is a region where new and world-class health infrastructure is being rolled out to more people than ever before. It is a region with record high bulk-billing rates under a coalition government. It is a region where, after years of neglect by Labor representatives, the coalition is determined to deliver a plan to see more doctors become available for local families where they are needed the most. If members opposite want to know what real action on health care looks like, they should look to the Central Coast and see how this government has been setting a new standard of excellence in health care for our region.

Contrast this with the six years of Labor representation during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, when Belinda Neal and Deborah O'Neill—now Senator O'Neill—were the members for Robertson, and the Central Coast was falling into a state of very poor health indeed. I remind members opposite that Labor's cuts during this time included $1 billion from Medicare for dental and $500 million from Medicare for pathology. I remind them that Labor cut $664 million from Medicare for GPs, $450 million from the Medicare Safety Net protections, $2.5 billion from pharmacy and medicines, and $4 billion from the private health insurance rebate for consumers, and they means-tested it. It is a very long list. And, as the minister stated so clearly—and it hardly needs repeating—it was Labor who introduced, created, owned and authored the Medicare freeze. Now Labor refuses to back its unfunded $57 billion hospitals promise, their biggest cut in waiting.

What is more, Labor, represented on the Central Coast by then members Belinda Neal and Deborah O'Neill, failed the people of the Central Coast by letting the GP shortage on the Peninsula become a crisis. They did this by simply doing nothing, especially on the Peninsula. In contrast, we acted, including in 2015 when the coalition made vital changes to the District of Workforce Shortage calculations so that now the most up-to-date data is used to identify areas where there is a doctor shortage. This change has meant greater availability of doctors in 26 new suburbs in Robertson. Recently we engaged with health experts and health professionals to host a community forum, packed with around 100 people, where we committed to address this problem. The Assistant Minister for Health, Dr David Gillespie, joined me at the forum at Umina Beach, and I look forward to sitting down with him again tomorrow with key medical recruiters here in parliament.

This also comes as bulk-billing rates hit record highs, meaning patients are getting more benefit from Medicare than ever before. Nationally, as we have already heard, GP bulk-billing rates have jumped to 85.4 per cent during the second half of 2016. This is even higher in my electorate, where it is around 87 per cent, and it is almost 91 per cent in the member for Dobell's electorate, but you do not hear these facts coming from Labor. So let this be clear: the coalition government has a rock-solid commitment to Medicare, and funding is increasing by around $1 billion every year. We also have a rock-solid commitment to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and from next month the cost of more than 1,100 medicine brands is being reduced, with vital new drugs being added to the PBS for people with conditions including high cholesterol, Parkinson's disease, depression and breast cancer. The coalition government also has a generous and sustainable hospital funding agreement, which delivers an additional $2.9 billion in public hospital funding. That is $7.9 billion more than Labor funded in its last year of government.

Finally, let me underline how the coalition government is clearly demonstrating its commitment to world-class health care on the Central Coast. We have set up a groundbreaking new medical precinct task force for the Central Coast, which includes representatives from government and the University of Newcastle, and health experts from the private and public sectors. We did not hear a word about this when Labor represented the region. Established with the assistance of the Minister for Health, when he served as the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, the task force is an Australian-first pilot that will seek to build on our $32.5 million investment in the Central Coast Medical School and Medical Research Institute—again, nothing that occurred under the Labor government.

This is based at Gosford hospital, which is itself undergoing a $348 million expansion thanks to the NSW Liberal government. There are 750 jobs that will flow from the medical research institute and school, with the facility on track to be completed by 2019. I could not be more proud of the work that this government is doing to deliver better standards of health care to people who need it most on the Central Coast and, indeed, around Australia. (Time expired)

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