Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with pleasure that I join my Labor colleagues to address this issue concerning the government's broken promises and their failures on rural and regional health. I welcome the contribution from the member for Boothby just a moment ago and I would like to return to the issue of some of the health workforce issues.

It is undeniable that the Abbott Liberal-National government is failing people in rural and regional Australia, and their supposed representatives in this government—in particular, the National Party—have gone into hiding. We have watched them hide from their budget plans as those plans went from bad to worse. But when it comes to health policy, the evidence is especially damning. It is not just Labor Party people saying this. In case members opposite want to chant their usual retort about 'scaremongering' and 'whipping up a storm', I would just like to share with the House a few comments from people working in this area, some experts. The CEO of Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health, Rod Wellington, said:

This budget will exacerbate the key inequities in health coverage outside urban Australia …

He could not be more right. The Vice-President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Dr John Hall, had something to say too. He warned us:

The new arrangements will only make it much more difficult for rural Australians, who are among Australia's poorest people, to afford healthcare …

The real danger is that many of the poorest rural patients will choose not to see a doctor for preventative healthcare, and will then present in subsequent years with serious health issues that will cost the health system and hospitals significantly more to treat.

That is exactly what we are trying to avoid. This government has misunderstood the health needs of rural and regional Australians. Compared to people living in major cities, we know that people living in rural Australia are far more likely to be affected by chronic diseases and illnesses. We have already heard that they are more likely to have melanoma, serious injuries and obesity. And if you are a man, increased risk suicide is a really serious issue. But this government has nothing to say about the issues in this space.

To make matters worse, we know that the out-of-pocket health costs in rural Australia are significantly more. We know that people are earning less money in regional Australia and access to any form of health care is more expensive and takes more time. Any additional obstacles that this government puts in the way of regional Australians just increase the difficulties and the inequities which already exist in our health system. The actions of this government—the ongoing broken promises—are just making it that much tougher for rural Australians. When we look at the budget cuts that have come down from this government we already know that the Hunter New England Health service in my electorate is set to lose more than $156 million in funding over the next five years.

This Prime Minister will remember well the leadership debates at Rooty Hill where he stood up and said:

We are not shutting any Medicare Locals.

He could not be clearer—no ambiguity whatsoever: 'We are not shutting any Medicare Locals.' I have got news for members opposite. There are 61 Medicare Locals all around Australia—a great Labor initiative—under threat of having their doors closed. Medicare Locals—there is one my electorate—have been the pioneers of GP access after hours. It is a model that this government should roll out across the nation. You want to shut the doors on that? There is not a single family or senior person in Newcastle who does not sing the praises of the after-hours GP access service provided by Hunter Medicare Local. But no. This government is going to shut those doors. They are going to rip out all of the infrastructure currently in place in regional Australia to deliver primary health care. Shame on you!

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