Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In beginning my remarks, I would like to acknowledge that joining us today in the gallery are the students of the Catholic College of Bendigo. It is great to have them here today. What I know from speaking with those students is that their motto is, their school believes and they believe that relationships are built on love and respect. Those are important words and words that this government has forgotten when it comes to health care. Far from being done, the GP tax is back. It is back in a way that the government has tried to hide in its budget papers. They are trying to introduce a GP tax by stealth.

What they have done is continue to freeze the Medicare rebates. That is going to cost billions and billions of dollars to our healthcare system. If this government does not continue to increase the Medicare rebates, it means that patients will have to foot the bill. They will have to pay the tax. It has already been outed today. It has already been exposed that that will cost individual patients upwards of $8 per visit. This is worse than a $5 GP tax; this is worse than a $7 GP tax. We are now up to $8.

It is time that this government went back to school and remembered the lessons of their days in school and the lessons about relationships, respect, believing in young people and respecting our healthcare system and our doctors. If they do not, then the placards will be back, the rallies will be back and the protests will be back about a government that does not understand that you must back Medicare. (Time expired)