Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Lowering the cost of medicines across Australia not only helps people with the cost of living but also ensures that we keep people healthy, and it actually helps people with their treatment. People's health shouldn't be something they wonder if they can afford. That's why I'm incredibly proud to rise today to speak about how this Labor government is making medicines cheaper for all Australians.

This legislation delivers on Labor's election commitment to make medicines more affordable, saving patients over $200 million annually and assisting with the cost of living. The National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025 will help to reduce the general co-payment for PBS medicines from $31.60 to $25, effective from 1 January 2026. Having already slashed the cost of medicines with the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS in 2023, we're following that up now and going even further. Keeping the cost of medicines low is also a practical way we can help people make that doctor's appointment, get into the pharmacy and get medications they need to live a healthy life.

We are committed to keeping the cost of medicines low. Having already slashed the cost of medicines, as I said, we're going even further. The last time that PBS medicines were this affordable was in 2004, over 20 years ago. Back in 2004, I was still at university and working in a pharmacy. In 2004, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the Oscar winner for Best Picture. Myspace was the coolest social media site, and ugg boots were a fashion statement. I think that they still are, so maybe that is something that goes back to 2004. I'm not currently wearing them, but you'll catch me at Woolworths Tura Beach in them.

The reduction to $25, turning back that clock to 2004, will help Aussies be able to buy medicines that improve their quality of life. Patients with a concession card will also get that price of their PBS medicines, $7.70, frozen until 2030, which is another fantastic investment made by this government and another way in which we're assisting with those cost-of-living pressures, particularly for people on fixed incomes.

This policy is incredibly important because it delivers on our big commitment to our communities which was all around health care—in particular, regional communities, where this matters so much. It also builds on our policy for 60-day prescriptions, which is designed to support millions of Australians going through an ongoing health issue.

Our Labor government is committed to looking after our most vulnerable people, ensuring that they don't have to make choices between medicines and the other essentials they need. I know that my colleague the assistant minister for health, Emma McBride, often talks about seeing people, as a pharmacist, who were making choices between different scripts.

In my electorate of Eden-Monaro alone, the legislation is expected to save our community over $10.2 million. That's a significant amount of money that can be spent supporting our local businesses, getting the kids new school shoes, going out for dinner at a local restaurant or buying a raffle ticket at your sporting club. Eden-Monaro residents have already saved $7.6 million because of the Albanese government's cheaper medicines policy, a policy that, unfortunately, those opposite voted against.

Living in a regional community, I know it can be tough to access healthcare services, so I'm really proud that the Albanese government is delivering on its promise to strengthen Medicare and invest in local health care. We've tripled the bulk-billing incentive, and, thanks to these landmark investments, we have added 2.2 million bulk-billed visits in regional and rural Australia alone.

We're also rolling out Medicare mental health centres across Australia. Medicare mental health centres are government funded centres offering free, immediate, short- to medium-term mental health support and navigation for anyone over 18 with no referral needed. This means free mental health treatment for people in communities across the country. Again, this is all about ensuring that cost is no barrier for Aussies with ongoing care needs. Across the country, there are already 13 centres operating in New South Wales; five operating in Western Australia; four operating in South Australia; and one operating in each of Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT. There's one just up the road from me in Moruya, in the electorate of Gilmore, which officially opened earlier this year. Having accessible and safe places to address mental health needs is essential to having a strong and healthy community. You can access mental health hubs in Bega, Queanbeyan and Goulburn as well. You can access these Medicare mental health centres by calling the Head to Health line on 1800595212 and asking for support or by visiting a centre—whichever you are most comfortable with.

Urgent care clinics are another important service that we're rolling out. We've opened 90 Medicare urgent care clinics, from Queanbeyan to Broome to Mount Gambier, to free up our emergency rooms and get people seen sooner. These 90 Medicare urgent care clinics have already seen more than 1.8 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023, including over 355,000 presentations to the 22 existing New South Wales urgent care clinics as at 4 August this year. The urgent care clinic we delivered in Queanbeyan has already supported over 7,000 fully bulk-billed presentations and we've just announced that tenders are open for three new urgent care clinics in Nowra, Shellharbour and the Bega valley. These will take pressure off local hospitals including Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital, Shellharbour Hospital and South East Regional Hospital, and will fill an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend. I'm proud to be part of a Labor team delivering on this election commitment to provide better local health care across the Bega valley because people should have access to free health care when and where they need it.

As all parents know, having access to a service, especially on the weekend or after hours is incredibly important. Weekend sport can be a crazy time in our regions with kids spraining ankles and wrists, and getting cuts, bruises or breaks. I well and truly know this with an entirely sports mad family. From swimming to netball, basketball, AFL and athletics—we play it all. My middle child is also asthmatic and we know kids can deteriorate quite quickly. I've now had half-a-dozen hospital presentations, with numerous hospital stays with him. If we'd had access to an urgent care clinic when he was little, I wouldn't have had to clog up our emergency department when it wasn't needed. An urgent care clinic is a great way to get something that is minor seen earlier. It could be a cut that needs stitches or a sprain before it turns into something more serious. It's reduced waiting times in our emergency departments. There are no out-of-pocket costs and there are extended hours. Communities are telling us that it's exactly what they wanted.

Of course, our general practitioners are invaluable across regional communities which is why we are supporting more GPs to bulk-bill. From 1 November 2025, the government will support thousands of GPs to bulk-bill every patient with the launch of the new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program. We are supporting more GPs to come to rural and regional Australia with a popular new rural GP specialty reaching a milestone earlier this year. In 2025, we have seen the largest cohort of doctors starting GP training in Australian history. More than 1,750 doctors have started government funded training to become a GP in 2025. One-third of these future GPs are training in the new general practice specialty of rural generalism, which has now reached a critical milestone in its recognition as an official medical specialty. Rural generalists are rural GPs and they provide much more than just vital primary and emergency care to rural and regional communities. They often have additional training in obstetrics, mental health and anaesthetics.

This is another very welcome sign of confidence returning to general practice and it reflects the Albanese government's financial support to encourage greater growth. It also adds to our commitment to invest an additional $573 million in women's health, including more support for menopause and contraceptives, saving women and their families thousands of dollars. The Australian government's women's health package has already started to improve access and affordability, with the first PBS listing in more than 30 years for new oral contraceptive pills and the first PBS listing in over 20 years for new menopausal hormone therapies earlier this year.

There are now more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics open. We are expanding from 22 to 33 the number of clinics across the country. On 1 November, there will be larger Medicare payments and more bulk billing for IUDs and birth control implants, saving around 300,000 women a year up to $400 in out-of-pocket costs. Women deserve a health care system that provides more choice, lower costs and high-quality care. As a government, we are committed to supporting women's health care, and I'm proud the Albanese government is delivering on that promise.

Turning back to cheaper medicines, it's so important that we keep doing what we can to make access to health care more affordable. We don't want to end up like other countries where the cost of medicines is prohibitive—where people don't get the help they need when they need it, and they end up much worse. Preventive health care is vital to keeping communities strong, local economies going and ensuring that people have a quality of life. It's about dignity and ensuring that we look after one another.

Imagine the alternative when people can't afford the medicines they need. The first risk is the impact on health itself. When medicines are too expensive, people delay filling prescriptions, cut doses in half to make them last longer or skip them altogether. That means conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma are left untreated or poorly managed. What begins as a manageable health issue can quickly spiral into a medical emergency. A hospital stay costs far more than a prescription, and it puts pressure on our healthcare system that can be avoided.

The second risk is financial stress for people on fixed incomes—pensioners, single parents, students or those who are in casual jobs. The rise in the price of medicines creates impossible choices. Do you pay the rent or do you fill a prescription? Do you buy groceries or your child's asthma inhaler? No Australian should have to make that choice.

The third risk is in inequality in our healthcare system. Australia prides itself on the principle of universal access—that health care should be available to everyone, not just the wealthy. When the cost of medicine becomes a barrier, that principle starts to crumble. Wealthy Australians can afford the treatments they need, while those with fewer resources are left behind. The result is a widening health gap between the rich and the poor, the city and the country, the young and old. There's also a long-term national risk. As more people miss out on vital medicines, chronic conditions worsen, leading to greater demand on hospitals, emergency services and aged care. This drives up the cost of health care for everyone—for taxpayers, governments and the health system itself.

So I am here today incredibly proud to support this legislation. We need to keep pushing for strong policies that protect Australians from the burden of high medicine costs. That means continuing to expand subsidies under the PBS, encouraging greater competition in the pharmaceutical market and ensuring that rural and remote Australians aren't paying more simply because of where they live. We need to treat affordable access to medicines as a basic right, not a privilege. Medicines are not luxury goods.

I would like to sincerely thank the health minister, Mark Butler, and his health team for bringing forward this bill. It delivers on a significant commitment made prior to the election. It builds on earlier actions undertaken by the Albanese Labor government to deliver cheaper medicines. It helps strengthen Medicare and improve access to health care for all Australians. This bill is important now. It was important in 2023 when we reduced the cost of medicines for the first time, and it will remain important for this parliament to come together to ensure that access to affordable health care, whether that is medicines or treatment, remains a continuing priority not just of a Labor government but of a parliament as a whole. We have to ensure that health care remains accessible, particularly when we see other countries attempting to attack our PBS. We need to remain strong—that the PBS is a core right for Australians and that they can rely on their government, of whatever political persuasion, to stand up for cheaper medicines and affordable health care and ensure we continue to back affordable health care in this country.

Again, I commend the bill to the House. I think it's incredibly important. I want to again thank our health team for the work they've done in bringing this bill forward.

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