Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think everybody in this chamber believes fundamentally that we want a country that is prosperous, that is safe and that is healthy. And the government plays a critical role in creating the structures and framework for a free society. As part of that, we also have the ambition of a healthy population with a just system that addresses issues of equity to make sure that people can get access to critical and basic health services so they can live out the fullness of their lives. That point has been debated at different time about how best to achieve that. At present, we have the Medicare system, and the Medicare system has never had a better friend than the Morrison government. We have consistently delivered year-on-year funding, year-on-year increases in the number of GPs who bulk-bill and year-on-year better access to the healthcare services that Australians need.

Let's not misunderstand, in this place there are people who feel they have a monopoly on compassion and believe that everything they do can never be questioned—they're called the Australian Labor Party. They sit on the opposition benches because their disinterest in outcomes for Australians always comes second to their own ambition to claim credit for their own relevance. But the reality is and the numbers show that we have seen consistent increases in Medicare funding and consistent outcomes in bulk-billing rates. They're the hard numbers. Compared to last period, the same time last year, the GP non-referred attendance bulk-billing rate was 86 per cent this year, up from 85.5 per cent last year. The specialist attendances bulk-billing rate was 31.4 per cent, up from 30.9 per cent the previous year. And the total Medicare bulk-billing rate was 79 per cent, up from 78.7 per cent last year.

We know there are those people who need extra assistance and support, who need to be able to go to the doctor and not experience a co-payment. We can trust the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which found that more than half of all patients, about 11 million Australians, incurred no out-of-pocket cost for non-hospital Medicare services in 2016-17, according to the most recent data, and from what we know and have seen on the ground in our communities.

Labor members come into this chamber and talk about why only they can be the solution, even though they have never been the solution to these issues. In Goldstein, we got no additional commitments of support or funding to Medicare or essential health services at the last election from the Australian Labor Party. In fact, we didn't even appear on their radar; all they wanted was to harvest the electorate of Goldstein for votes hoping they would get a third Senate candidate—they failed that but that's a separate issue. The coalition has taken a very proactive step in making sure that Medicare services are provided to the communities based on need. What we saw in the lead-up to the last election was new MRI licences for Cabrini Hospital in Brighton as well for Holmesglen in Moorabbin. That meant, for the first time, residents of the City of Bayside who have cancer, stroke, heart and other medical conditions could get scans locally rather than having to travel. The licence is expected to deliver approximately 5,900 Medicare subsidised services annually at a cost of $2.24 million per annum. This, of course, will save lives, decrease cost for patients and increase access.

On my very first visit to Cabrini, Brighton, when I was first elected as member shortly after 2016 election, they had one request, which was a Medicare-funded licensed MRI. We were able to deliver it not only through strong and effective advocacy but also because this government understands that the foundation of a strong health system is a strong economy. Get a strong economy where people are paying taxes and contributing to standing on their own two feet and they will in the best position to turn around and help those who are not. We on this side have the resources to deliver record Medicare funding, record health outcomes for Australians and, of course, deliver essential local services like the Medicare-licensed MRI in Goldstein.

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