Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The words I present today are to address the Treasury Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2018. Every government since 1996-97 has generally decided to increase the low-income thresholds in line with the positive movements of the CPI each year. We all know what CPI means, but, just as a reminder, the consumer price index is a formal way of buying a whole range of items that could be part of household costs, averaging it out and comparing it with the last time the task was done. The increase, through a range of calculations, results in the CPI. The CPI figure is used by many different government departments to calculate a range of changes that apply to pensions and other income support mechanisms. We know that age pensions go up in March and September every year in line with CPI. More importantly, if we don't change the taxable threshold in line with that rise in CPI then people who currently don't pay extra, including the Medicare levy, will have to pay.

Essentially, this bill is about changing the threshold of low-income families before they have to start paying the fees or levies. It's about reducing the impact on low-income families. The Medicare levy low-income threshold makes sure that people who pay no personal income tax because of the tax-free threshold and structural offsets, like the low-income tax offset or the seniors and pensioners tax offset, generally don't pay the Medicare levy yet are able to get into the Medicare system. This is an essential part of ensuring that everyone who does not currently pay continues to not have to pay. It is part of our government guaranteeing the essential services that Australians rely on.

A stronger economy has enabled the government to deliver record investment in Medicare, hospitals, schools and disability services. Australians have guaranteed access to high-quality hospitals and schools, not because we have the lion's share of direct funding to either hospitals or schools but because we have strong agreements with the state governments about investment in these two essential parts of our daily lives that affect all our families. In addition, we have the revenue for the delivery of a strong Medicare system, which is vital and needs to be there to provide the services to those with permanent and significant disabilities as well as those who get ill or who need to go to the doctor or a specialist. One of the problems is that we don't have enough doctors or specialists out there who bulk-bill. That is an issue. But if we've got a good Medicare system then we've got choices.

Talking about choice, we're providing more choice for older Australians to live healthier, more independent and safer lives so that they can take advantage of the opportunities that a longer life brings. It's not just about house cleaning, daily nurses visiting or carers coming to help with daily walks for someone recovering from a knee replacement. Each and every activity like these helps our older people have a better time, a quality time, while they remain in their own homes. A government cannot invest in such services unless there is a very strong economy to back that up—and we are doing exactly that.

Our record investment in schools will give teachers the tools to lift the performance of their students and prepare them for the jobs of the future. As a former science teacher, I'm proud that we have delivered these reforms. I've seen fantastic changes in my local schools where the additional investment has been allocated to teacher training and student courses that have never been offered before. We're looking at recommendations from the review to achieve educational excellence in Australian schools.

From July 2018, the government will ease the cost-of-living pressures for nearly a million Australian families by implementing the new childcare package. And I take this opportunity to remind families in my electorate to register: there are about 5,000 families in Gilmore who will absolutely be better off, but they do need to register.

We have record levels of funding going to hospital services, the Medicare Benefits Schedule and pharmaceutical benefits. Just recently, I had Stan come in. He has lung cancer, and we've put his drug on the PBS. So, instead of it costing him 350 bucks a pop, it's the cost of a script. I then had Richard, who has trouble breathing. A new drug has come through the PBS, so that instead of $204 a hit it's the cost of a script.

If you don't have a strong economy you simply can't deliver these changes, and we're doing it. We're trying to get rural health stronger and I know that all the people who I have seen in my local area want to make this better as well. We're working hard with the National Disability Insurance Scheme. In fact, our revenue is so good that we don't have to change the Medicare levy; we've actually got the funding there to support this scheme for all our people.

The Medicare Guarantee Fund is going to be increased. An additional $34.4 billion has gone to this fund, and a further credit of $35.3 billion will be made to meet the estimated MBS and PBS expenditure in 2018-19. We've got cystic fibrosis testing, 3D breast cancer screening and MRI tests for prostate cancer. You can't do any of that unless you've got the revenue to support that, and we're doing that. I think it's fantastic we've got solar coming into the local regions and community groups. Again, these are grants and subsidies that can only come out through a strong economy. There are a whole stack of things that have been brought through for people with diabetes. There is the insulin pump for young children—an investment of $6.2 million, and I would like to give a shout out to the DENNY Foundation, who were great advocates for that, with Pieta Newport and Marg Smith involved locally. They really got me involved in it and made me understand how important that was.

Medicare is not at risk. With an additional one million jobs, that's a huge increase in revenue for the Medicare levy, not to mention the huge investment by the government. This is an outstanding investment from a strong government with strong revenue streams. I commend the bill.

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