Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Mackellar for moving this very important amendment that we have in front of us at the moment. The reality is that our healthcare system is in crisis. Whether it's in the hospital system or through to the community system, what we know without a doubt is that there are plenty of people who are looking for healthcare services and, sadly, are unable to access them. I was fortunate to be one of the members of parliament who was visited last week by people who were representing the GP workforce across this country, and I was horrified to learn that of the students who finish medicine these days at university just under 14 per cent of them are choosing to go into general practice.

As somebody who grew up in regional and rural Australia, where the general practitioners in our community were considered to be amongst the highest of the citizens that we had, it's heartbreaking to see that medical students are not choosing to lean into this pathway as a career going forward. There is no doubt that as our population ages we are going to need general practitioners who have an ability to look at a person and see them as an entire health puzzle. There is no doubt in many medical situations that having a good relationship with a general practitioner actually enables your health to be managed more effectively. As someone who has advocated very loudly in the area of mental health, I think this is particularly important.

To this end, I commend the member for Mackellar and agree with her that we do need to recognise that the financial benefits currently being offered under this bill in many cases will not be sufficient to drive what we need to see—a significant influx of talent into this professional area. I also want to reiterate the member for Mackellar's call that we are going to be 11,000 GPs short by 2032. Knowing that there are so many other industries across our nation who are also seeking talent, it's imperative that we move as quickly as we can to find these resources and close this gap. I understand from both the member from Mackellar and those who visited me last week that GP training is something that needs to be included in the fundamental training program of healthcare professionals, and I would encourage the federal government to step into that to exert pressure where they can.

I also ultimately recognise that there's been minimal movement on Medicare rebate, which makes it very difficult for general practitioners to provide the level of support that their patients are ultimately expecting from them. You cannot take care of the health of a whole human being when your business model forces you to try and get through as many people as you can by focusing on a five-minute consultation.

We need to fundamentally embrace the knowledge of members such as the member for Mackellar and the others who make representations in this chamber to ensure that we are building a healthcare system that is not just fit for purpose now but fit for purpose well into the future. I commend the member for Mackellar's amendment to the House.

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