Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I concede that, but you do not actually need a Medicare office any longer in Australia. I agree with her that Medicare provides all Australians with access to health care, and we on both sides of the parliament all support Medicare. Where I do need the support of the member for Shortland is in relation to the services provided under Medicare at the Townsville Hospital. Currently the Townsville Hospital has the highest number of people on a waiting list—but get this, Mr Deputy Speaker: they are on a waiting list, waiting to get on a waiting list at the hospital. How could that be?

The numbers are higher than at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, for example. There are 21,451 people on the waiting list for specialist outpatient appointments—before they even get onto the elective surgery waiting list. That is disgraceful. Medicare has got to address that. Through the efforts of all of us in this parliament we have got to make sure that Medicare understands that it is there to provide access to health care for all Australians in a timely way. Consider that a major, level 6 public hospital in Northern Australia has 21,451 people on a waiting list, waiting to get on a waiting list. That is not good service and it should not be allowed to continue. I plead with our health bureaucrats and I plead with the state government, which manages the Townsville Hospital, to address that issue.

Of course, I am very mindful that the current government gave a commitment 18 months ago that, if the public hospital system in Australia was not fixed within 18 months, the Commonwealth would take over the public hospital system. That 18 months will be up on 30 June—very shortly—and it will be interesting to see the response of the government.

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