Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to call out the Albanese government for its neglect of regional Australians.

Throughout the recent election campaign, the Prime Minister flashed his Medicare card around, stating that this would be the only card needed to visit a doctor. For many constituents of O'Connor, this was never going to be their reality. They may be living in towns that may not even have a doctor, much less one that offers bulk-billing. And, as of 1 July, the changes to the NDIS, particularly the change to the travel charge rate, have resulted in even less essential service delivery to the bush. I've spoken to NDIS service providers who say that these latest changes, introduced with only two weeks notice, leave them with little option but to reduce or cease services. We're talking about providers who regularly travel up to 12 hours to service some of O'Connor's most isolated and disadvantaged communities. They're now saying that providing these outreach services will be financially unviable. Due to the tyranny of distance, many O'Connor constituents eligible for the NDIS have never been able to use their plan, and so many more will now be excluded from services that cannot be substituted with telehealth or any other remote form of delivery. Again the people of the bush are left behind by policies designed with only city and suburban voters in mind.

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