Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this important motion put forward by my colleague the member for Dobell about affordable access to medicines when Australians need them. I want to adopt what my colleague, the only pharmacist in this place, said—that access to affordable medicines and health care shouldn't be a political stunt. It's above politics because it's about egalitarian access to health care, universal health care. It's really one of the great manifestations of one of the most fundamental of Australian values—fairness. It's something that we in this country are rightly proud of, and it's something that we have to hold precious and hold dear and fight to protect. The promise of universal health care is the promise of an egalitarian society—a society where, no matter how much money you have in the bank, how much money you earn, or even if you don't earn any money at all, if you are sick, you know that you'll have access to the best medical care, including the best medicines. When you're sick, the last thing you need to be worried about is how you're going to be able to afford to go to the doctor, to see the specialist, or to buy the medicine, which in many cases is life-saving.

Since 1948, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, proudly introduced by a Labor government, has been one of the most important elements of Australia's universal healthcare system, along with that other great Labor reform, the Medicare system. We know that the aims of the PBS, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, are to ensure timely access to medicines that Australians need at a cost the individual and the community can afford, and also to make sure that medicines meet appropriate standards of quality, safety and efficacy. It is really important that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the work of PBAC, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, are not politicised, are not used as a weapon against the other side, and they're allowed to go about doing their job; and when PBAC says, 'These medicines should be put on the PBS,' then that's what happens. As the member for Dobell said, if the health minister wishes to claim credit for every drug that is put on the PBS, then he has to accept responsibility for the fact that there are 60 drugs which have been recommended by PBAC to put on the PBS which are not there—not only drugs that would improve the quality of life for many Australians who need it but drugs that in many cases would prolong and save Australians' lives.

There are also drugs that the Australian government needs to put on other schemes. One of them is flash continuous glucose monitoring. Despite the shadow minister for health tabling a petition of some 214,000 signatures requesting the Minister for Health to list the flash glucose monitor on the NDSS as soon as possible, it is not on the NDSS. That means that people like my constituent Jacqui can't afford to pay for it. Jacqui is very lucky that she's been put on a trial of FreeStyle Libre with Frankston Hospital. She came in to see me and told me how flash continuous glucose monitoring has changed her life as a diabetic. It has allowed her to undergo daily activities that most of us take for granted and to monitor her health and wellbeing. She came to see me and said: 'Peta, I'm not just here for myself. In fact, I'm predominantly not here for myself. I'm here for all the other diabetics who are out there whose lives have been a constant battle just to have stability. I want them to have access to whatever they need so that they can be a contributing member of society and can feel that they're a contributing member of society.' I join those 214,000 Australians and the shadow minister for health and call on Minister Hunt to get flash glucose monitoring on the NDSS as soon as possible.

We know that out-of-pocket costs for health care have gone up and up. We have Australians living with flat and stagnant wages, with rising household expenses and rising out-of-pocket costs for health care. We know that those who are the most disadvantaged, those who are struggling the hardest to get by, are the ones who are going without when it comes to health care. That is not good enough. That is undermining the promise of universal health care, and, like every other member of the Labor caucus in this federal parliament, I will stand up as often as I can to say we must fight for it and not let it be undermined.

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