Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for introducing the National Health Amendment (Effect of Prosecution—Approved Pharmacist Corporations) Bill 2023, as accountability and trust in medical professions and our healthcare industry are all too important today, not only within the industry at large but within the general public as well. This is an interesting bill. It seems simple, and I think there's pretty much general agreement across the parliament that this is a good thing, but it is also a demonstration of how medical practice has changed in the more than 40 years I've worked as a paediatrician. In days gone by people had their own general practitioner, often in a solo practice, providing after-hours care, home visits and pretty much holistic care for the whole family. My uncle Hyam Emdur was a GP in Newtown for over 60 years. When he was 91, and still practising, I asked him, 'Uncle Hyam, why don't you retire?' And he said, 'Because I hate gardening and I'm too young for bowls.' Practice has changed since those days.

We used to have the community pharmacists who'd run his pharmacy, often staying open all hours, day and night, compounding medications, making up medications, making up children's medications and solutions, and really working very hard for the community. But these days things have changed, and we are now in an era of corporate medicine and corporate pharmacies. Most of us who live in the cities know that there are now things like Chemist Warehouse and the pharmacy chains that provide most of the care. And the pharmacy business has changed as has, indeed, the amount of money that we spend on medication. This legislation tackles the complicated issue of inappropriate PBS prescribing by pharmacists, company directors and company owners and holds to account those individuals who act in a fraudulent manner so that they can be prosecuted. The legislation was introduced years ago, without the knowledge that corporate pharmacies would be the order of the day as they are now.

I do have some concerns about fraudulent practice in the pharmaceutical and pharmacy industries, the same as in medical practice. There are always outliers—doctors, pharmacists, other health professionals—who are willing to take risks to make money. This bill is important, as it focuses on the issue of inconsistency. The power to suspend or revoke the approval of a pharmacist who was charged or convicted of PBS related offences applied previously only if they were an individual pharmacist, not if they were working for a company. Currently, it does not apply where the approval is held by a pharmacist operating in a company structure, and that is now the majority of pharmacists in Australia. This bill, thankfully, rectifies this as it provides discretionary power to the minister and the secretary to suspend or revoke the approval of a pharmacist who has been prosecuted on PBS fraud offences, regardless of whether the approval is held by an individual or held under a company structure.

If we fail to act, fraud will continue to take healthcare funding away from those who need it most. We know that our pharmaceuticals costs are increasing, with millions of dollars being inappropriately taken from taxpayers and the Department of Health by criminals through fraudulent behaviour. A notable example of this occurred in June 2022, when a former New South Wales pharmacist was sentenced to more than six years imprisonment for conspiring to defraud taxpayers of more than $19 million through fraudulent PBS claims. I can see how this could happen, particularly in higher-turnover pharmacies. It's true that it happens rarely, but it does happen and the potential is there, so it is very important that we have legislation that can deal with these sorts of situations in corporate pharmacy practices. It is very disturbing that this could happen and also very sad. It's abuse against our healthcare system.

This legislation will strengthen the government's ability to protect public expenditure through the PBS, and again, it highlights the Labor government's commitment to protecting, strengthening and restoring faith in health care. It also forms part of our plan to address the cost of medications and to bolster the PBS. For example, as of 1 January this year, our government helped millions of Australians save money on their medications by reducing general co-payments for scripts by $12.50. It is the first time this has happened in the history of the PBS, and it is very important for constituents in my electorate of Macarthur and, indeed, across the country. Particularly for families who have a number of children who often require medications for things like asthma and respiratory infections, reducing those costs significantly improves cost-of-living pressures for many families throughout Australia. It's worth noting that Labor has a strong history on health care, with the PBS being introduced by the Curtin and Chifley governments in 1949, Medibank by Gough Whitlam in 1973 and Medicare under Hawke in 1984.

I look forward to the Albanese Labor government bolstering our track record on health over the coming term, but there are storm clouds there. I cannot stress enough the importance of having appropriate access to primary care for some of the most disadvantaged Australians. At the moment, we are at risk of developing a two-tier health system. I know that, in my electorate of Macarthur and in other disadvantaged areas around the country, many people are struggling to access primary health care. This is putting enormous pressure on our hospital emergency departments and on our GPs—and on our students, because fewer and fewer of them are wanting to enter general practice. We need to make sure that we are providing incentives for people to train as general practitioners and make sure that we are supporting our GPs to continue to bulk bill and to see some of the most disadvantaged people in our communities.

As I've said, this bill strengthens the government's ability to improve compliance and reduce inappropriate practice by corporations, directors and indeed some pharmacists. I'm pleased to note that many industry stakeholders such as the Pharmacy Guild and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia support this. It's another small step by the Albanese Labor government under health minister Mark Butler, improving access to care, making sure that the reputation of Australia's healthcare system remains one of the best in the world and making sure that people can continue to access 21st century health care in an economy that is under stress because of worldwide events. In this parliament we can ensure that we close loopholes for fraudulent abuses against the PBS. We can improve access to care. We can protect the integrity of our health system and provide Australians with peace of mind that they are getting the very best and most efficient health care system we can provide for them.

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