Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Robertson for giving us all this great opportunity to get up and speak about this policy, its life-saving abilities and its ability to reduce the pressures on costs of living. We know that Australian patients will, for the first time since the creation of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, get a much-needed cut to the cost of medicines, leaving more money and people's pockets to provide for their families. At a time when costs of living are going up, putting pressure on families across the country, this is one measure showing that the government is working hard to ensure that the relief it provides is targeted, measured and such that it does not add to the inflationary time bomb we inherited from the former government.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 900,000 patients delayed or didn't get a script filled in 2019-2020 due to the cost of their medications. No-one should have to choose between filling prescriptions for life-saving medicines and affording their day-to-day necessities. Our determination to deliver cheaper medicines will help everyday Australians. Under the cheaper medicines policy, the co-payment has reduced from $42.50 to just $30. That's a whopping 29 per cent reduction. This means that for PBS medications you'll only pay up to $30 and the government covers the rest. This is having real-world benefits. This is helping everyday Australians.

Penelope, in my electorate of Bennelong, contacted me at the end of last year. She has been a carer for her mum for the past seven years. She had a broken ankle and was struggling to walk and make ends meet. She wanted to know how she could get access to cheaper medications to make some savings were she could. Because of the commitment of this government, from 1 January she has been saving on her medications. She now has more money in her budget to help provide for her family. Since 1 January, when this legislation came into effect, people like Penelope have been able to better afford medicines that they need to keep themselves and their family healthy. Someone taking one medicine a month is now saving $150 every year. A family with two or three medications is now saving between $300 and $450 a year. That's money back in the their pocket and back in the household budget. That's real cost-of-living relief targeting those who really need it. In Bennelong, cheaper medicine will mean over 87,000 patients putting money back into their pockets, money back for their families. They are now saving a collective amount of over $4.7 million a year.

Being a local, I've visited a number of pharmacies in my electorate since this policy was announced and since its implementation. I've been to the Amcal chemist in the Macquarie Centre and to see Kevin, Johnny and Vivienne at the North Ryde Pharmacy in Cox's Road Mall, as well as my little pharmacy round the corner at Blenheim Road. These pharmacies and their staff are trusted, they care for their patients and they have an intimate understanding of their patients' needs. They all have the same story: they told me of the scores of people that would go up to the counter with multiple scripts, asking the pharmacist: 'Which medicine can I afford to miss out on this week?' These stories are of people risking their health and going without the medicines they need because they can not afford their medications. They're not just stories; they're real people who are now, because of this government, paying less for their medicine. There are 87,000 patients in Bennelong will benefit from this, forming just one part of the 3.6 million Australians who have been saving on their medical scripts since 1 January under this government. We know our communities and we know that vulnerable Australians deserve to be supported. That's why we've taken every opportunity, particularly at this time, to ease the cost of living.

As I close, I pay particular tribute to the members of this parliament who have a wealth of experience being doctors, GPs and pharmacists: the member MacArthur, Higgins, Kooyong, Mackellar, Dobell, and Robertson. I'm sure they catch up regularly and exchange notes as part of the medical caucus, but what a time for such an experienced bunch of citizens to be in this parliament, when we know we need to improve access to medicines and to our medical system. I thank them for all they bring to this place.

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