Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to talk about my friend Ken. Ken lives in Yeronga in my electorate of Moreton. Ken is a long-term resident of Brisbane's south side. Ken raised his family on the south side in Brisbane and Ken is a bastion of our community—someone who has been deeply involved across the community for many, many years. Ken is also one of the millions of Australians who rely on medicines every day. That's what this bill is all about. Those who rely on medicines deserve to have accessible and affordable health care.

When I talked to Ken about what cheaper medicines meant for him and his hip pocket, he told me that he saves $62 every month. That's not with this legislation in place; he already saves $62 every month from Labor's position, from Labor's legislation that already makes medicines cheaper. People across Moreton have already saved $9,700,000 because of a Labor government when it comes to cheaper medicines.

The Albanese Labor government's primary focus is providing cost-of-living relief, and we are delivering on that promise day in and day out. This legislation, the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025, will implement a cost-of-living measure that benefits everyone. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or the PBS, is the mechanism that enables this. All of us here have experienced the positive impact of the PBS, from cheaper everyday medicines, to life-changing access to very expensive medicines, to 60-day scripts saving us both time and money.

In preparation for this speech tonight, I decided that I would call my dad, because my mum is a diabetic and my dad—who has recently been through cancer and recovered, after a long bout of chemo—has also been in the wars a bit, having pneumonia following that bout of illness. What happened when I talked to my dad is: he said, 'Why do you want to know?' He then said: 'I take a lot of medicines and I don't know what they are.' But when we spoke for a little bit longer, he eventually got to the place where he started to talk about the medicines that he could remember himself and mum taking, and this is the list that he could get out. He said that they take Nexium; he said that mum takes Diamicron, Diabex and Glyxambi. And, when we looked each of those up, they are all PBS medicines. So, despite the fact that he couldn't remember what medicines they necessarily took—and this is something that many people in our community face—what was clear is that his medicines and my mum's medicines were cheaper because of a Labor government. The formerly expensive medications such as the ones that my mum and dad take are made affordable thanks to the PBS.

The current co-payment for a PBS medicine is $31.60 and from 1 January 2026, my dad and you, Deputy Speaker, my mum and I and everyone sitting in this chamber tonight will pay no more than $25 for a PBS medicine. In fact, millions of Australians will benefit when they purchase their everyday medication.

The PBS is a crucial part of Labor's ongoing commitment to making health care affordable, and its creation is central to the Labor story of social care, fairness and equality, because, when it comes to PBS medicines, when it comes to the accessibility and affordability of health care, it is what Labor does. It's in our DNA, it's in our bones, it's in our blood. And Labor has always taken a very clear stance that health care should be affordable and accessible.

The Curtin Labor government first attempted to legislate to subsidise various antibiotics in the mid-1940s, but it was deemed unconstitutional by the High Court. The Constitution was subsequently amended, paving the way for the Chifley Labor government to introduce an initial version of the PBS in 1948. At this time, free medicines for pensioners and 139 life-saving and disease-preventing medicines were made free of charge to the general public. This initiative was reflective of core Labor values and a vision for a fairer Australia—one where every person, regardless of their financial circumstances, could live with dignity and with security. In 1953, the PBS was established under the National Health Act, which this bill amends, and in 1960 the PBS became more comprehensive, offering a wide range of medicines.

The legacy of these decades of work is that we cannot imagine Australia without a PBS and its provision of affordable medicines to all, because the PBS is not only something that is cherished in this country; it is something that is the envy of the world, ensuring that medication and health care are things that you don't have to worry about when it comes to your hip pocket. It is our responsibility to uphold and build on this legacy—to ensure that the PBS remains sustainable and continues to support Australian families.

When we talk about threats to health care in this country, the biggest threat to health care in this country has always been those sitting on the other side of this chamber. When you compare the legacies of Labor and the coalition, what becomes clear is that Labor has always prioritised health care and, whether it's PBS medicines, investing in Medicare or making sure that women's health care is prioritised, it is Labor that has always led the way. When you compare those legacies, you can see an incredibly stark difference, because, while Labor was creating Medicare, we know that the LNP and those opposite were cutting from health care, while Labor was investing in bulk-billing, we know that those opposite were trying to introduce a copayment, and while Labor is ensuring that everyday health care is being made accessible, whether that be through urgent care clinics, increasing bulk-billing or making sure that medicines are cheaper, those opposite are continually cutting from critical health services that Australians rely on every day.

It's a goal that is echoed in the 2022 National Medicines Policy, which has the aim of providing 'equitable, timely, safe and affordable access to high-quality and reliable supplies of medicines and medicine related services for all Australians.' Medicine affordability is the foundation of Labor's approach and the objective of this bill. As at end of June 2024, there were 930 medicines being subsidised by the government. That is 930 individual, accessible, high-quality, safe and affordable medicines. In recent months we've seen numerous additional medicines added. These include medicines for breast cancer, diabetes, endometriosis and depression, to name just a few.

The financial relief is significant. Around 8,500 Australian women suffering from endometriosis could save more than $2,300 a year from the listing of specific medicines on the PBS. Similarly, around 50,000 women a year who use Yaz and Yasmin contraceptive pills, which are now on the PBS, will pay nearly one-quarter of the original amount annually from 1 January.

It's incredibly fitting that the member for Cooper is in the chamber today, because the member for Cooper was absolutely instrumental in bringing forward a half-a-billion-dollar investment in women's health—the largest investment that this country has ever seen. I had the great privilege of hosting the member for Cooper in my local electorate in Brisbane, in Fairfield. What we did in Fairfield was talk with people in their homes. We talked to them about what investing in health care like that meant, we talked to them about the largest investment in women's health and we talked to them about how life changing it was to invest in oral contraceptives, to invest in support for menopause and to invest in making sure that women's health is a top priority.

Around 150,000 women will save up to $370 per year from next January with the listing of three new menopausal hormone therapies. These are just a few of the examples of the cost-of-living relief that the PBS and this reform will provide.

For some, the PBS listing is even more meaningful. It is simply life changing and potentially even life saving. Under the PBS, medicines that were prohibitively expensive become affordable. This is the case for patients with prostate cancer, who, without the subsidy for Talzenna and Xtandi, would have to pay over $100,000 per course of treatment. The medicine Retevmo is used to fight a type of non-small cell lung cancer, and under the PBS patients avoid a course of treatment that can cost $280,000. And there are many more examples. My apologies, Deputy Speaker Freelander; I definitely messed up the pronunciation of that medicine!

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