Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the National Health Amendment (General Co-payment) Bill 2022. I am very pleased to speak on this bill, which of course is yet another coalition policy. They say the best form of flattery is imitation, and this bill is no different. But I'm not going to stand here and complain, because this bill ultimately results in a good outcome for the Australian people, and the coalition supports it. It is very much in their interest, particularly as we are dealing with cost-of-living pressures right now.

On 30 April 2022, before the last election, the coalition announced an election commitment to reduce the PBS general patient charge by $10. But, not to be outdone, just the very next day the Labor Party came out and announced that they would be reducing the charge by $12 50, a $2.50 improvement—very, very good policy work! I may jest a little bit and say it with a smile on my face, but it is a good outcome for Australians. But what is becoming increasingly clear is that the Labor party don't have any of their own policies. They continue to look to the policies of the coalition for addressing the cost of living. We support Labor's bill to reduce the maximum general co-payment for medicines on the PBS whilst we note that it is a copycat policy, made from our policies.

The bill will reduce the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme general co-payment by $12.50 from the current amount of $42.50 to the new amount of $30. I want to point out that this won't take effect until 1 January 2023. If this Labor government really cared about the cost-of-living pressures faced by Australian families and their businesses, they would have pursued this policy and pursued the introduction of this bill in their first sitting.

What Australians are really worried about right now is their financial stability and national security. While Labor dances to the tune of republicans, left-wing academics and militant unions, Australians are sitting around their dinner tables worried about their financial future. They are worried about how they are going to continue to put their kids through school and how they are going to continue to pay their mortgages. These are very real issues that Australians are grappling with on a day-to-day basis. They're worried about whether they are going to be able to put food on the table for their kids. They're worried about whether they're going to be able to put fuel in the car to drive to work and take their kids to and from school.

They worry about whether they are safe. They are worried about whether they are safe from malicious actors who are attacking our essential services online. They wonder about whether they are safe from national security threats after the dismantling, effectively, of the home affairs department. They wonder whether they are safe from geopolitical threats. They wonder about the decisions of this Labor government in vacillating on important defence projects, like whether it should be replacing the Taipan helicopters with Black Hawks. That's an absolute no-brainer, but the defence minister, in his ultimate wisdom, has decided to effectively put that project on hold and conduct a review as to whether it should be doing that. These are important projects. These are important defence projects that this government should be backing the coalition government's decisions on. The Labor Party talked a big talk about defence being bipartisan, but—

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