Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I ask you to cast your mind back to 2004. Australia's Mary Donaldson married Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark. The game World of Warcraft was released on PC, Britney Spears sang 'Toxic' while Shannon Noll asked, 'What about me?' Facebook had just been founded, Shrek 2 was the biggest film, a Big Mac cost $4.05, you could get two litres of milk for well under $3, and prescriptions on the PBS were less than $25.

Today, whenever I speak to people in Griffith, I hear how much time, effort and resources families are putting in to look after themselves and one another. During my campaign in Griffith I knocked on close to 15,000 doors. Since then, time and time again at my mobile offices across the electorate, Griffith locals have raised with me the rising cost of medicines as a key issue for them and their families. Whether it's getting their kids better from an illness or purchasing medicines to help manage a chronic disease, the rising cost of medicines is regularly raised as a significant cost-of-living burden.

It saddens me to know that, for many in my community, filling a prescription is not always as simple as it should be. Sometimes it feels like just one more barrier to getting the care they need. That's why I'm proud to stand here today and speak in support of the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025. This bill is about fairness, dignity and health equity. It's about making sure no-one in our country has to choose between their health and their household budget. This bill is practical relief for the household budget, and it is about better health outcomes for our community.

Back in 2004, more than 20 years ago, when Australians were paying no more than $25 for their PBS medicines, families could go to the chemist knowing that the medicines they needed were within reach relative to the wage that they were earning. But, in the years since, the cost of prescriptions has steadily risen, and, for many people, it has become harder to keep up.

It's worth pausing for a moment here to look at the coalition's track record when it comes to health. They froze Medicare rebates for six long years, pushing up GP costs and forcing more people into emergency departments. They knocked back proposals for cheaper medicines when they were in office, keeping prices higher for patients. They cut hospital funding and picked fights with the states instead of fixing the system. The difference between those opposite and the Albanese Labor government couldn't be any clearer. Labor strengthens Medicare and makes medicines cheaper. The Liberals weaken Medicare and let prices soar. Now, this government is turning that around, lowering the price so that Australians can once again afford the medicines they rely on to stay well.

From 1 January next year, the general patient copayment of PBS medication will fall from $31.60 to $25, delivering on our election commitment. Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, I will leave it to you to decide whether you'd enjoy a reprise of Shannon Noll and his 2004 musical proclamation that 'it isn't fair', but what I can tell you is a reprise that delivers fairness and one that is welcomed by our community is lowering the cost of PBS medicines to 2004 prices. These are significant changes that people right across the country and in my electorate of Griffith will feel every time they fill their PBS scripts.

I want to be very clear: our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, our PBS, saves lives. When I was a teenager growing up in Brisbane's Hawthorne in the 1990s, I went to school with a good friend Rhelma Donaldson, and I swam at the Morningside Flyers Swim Club with my friend Amy Franklin. Both of these friends were teenagers with cystic fibrosis. Both passed away within six months of one another. Rhelma was just 16 years old, and Amy had just turned 18. Back then we had no effective treatments for CF, an inherited, chronic and life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system. Today we have effective treatments available for this condition, but they are prohibitively expensive. One life-saving and transformational treatment, Trikafta, can cost families over $250,000 per year. Following its introduction to the PBS in 2022, from 1 July this year, our government has expanded this medication's listing to include CF patients two years and older who have at least one CFTR gene and who are responsive to treatment. This means more than 90 per cent of the 3,800 Australians living with CF now have access—and now, with these changes, this medication will cost families just $25 per script. More than likely, if we had had this medication available and affordable then, Rhelma and Amy would still be here today. I am thankful to say that my best friend, who also has cystic fibrosis, is most certainly here because of this medication and because of its inclusion in our PBS.

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to discuss the latest price drop of PBS medications with Paris, a young local pharmacist who lives in Murarrie in my electorate. Paris knows how these changes are going to make a big difference. She told me:

For many people in our community, even small reductions in the cost of medicine can make a huge difference.

Families are already struggling with day-to-day living expenses, so knowing their essential prescriptions will cost no more than $25 provides real relief and peace of mind.

Paris also shared a heartbreaking story. She told me about a patient who was cutting her antidepressant tablets in half just to make them last longer. This woman was juggling medicines for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health, and she just simply couldn't afford them all. But that, unfortunately, was not the only sad story I heard.

A pharmacist in Coorparoo told me of a young mum who came to the counter, faced with a terrible choice: should she buy the medicine she needed for herself or put food on the table for her kids? No parent should ever have to face that decision, and these reforms mean they won't have to. No Australian should ever have to ration their treatment and make sacrifices to their health because of the rising cost of scripts, and that's why this bill matters.

In 2023, we made the single biggest cut to the cost of PBS medicines in history. But we know there is more work to do, and that's why this bill responds to these needs by delivering a range of measures, including more than a 20 per cent cut in the maximum cost of PBS medicines, saving Australians over $200 million every year. Four out of five PBS medicines will become cheaper because of this government's $689 million investment. Pensioners and concession card holders will keep paying no more than $7.70, with that cost frozen until 2030. Importantly, all medicines that pharmacies can discount today will continue to be discounted once the copayment is cut, with provisions included to protect that availability.

This bill strengthens the Albanese government's strong commitment to affordable medicines and builds on actions already taken to deliver cost-of-living relief through cheaper medicines. I want to take this opportunity to outline what our government has already delivered. We're providing more free or cheaper medicines sooner, with a 25 per cent reduction in the number of scripts a concessional patient must fill before the PBS safety net kicks in. We're delivering the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS. The maximum cost of a general script fell in January 2023 to $30 from $42.50. We introduced 60-day prescriptions in three phases from September 2023, saving time and money for millions of Australians with an ongoing health condition. We also froze the cost of PBS medicines, with co-payments for all Australians not rising with inflation for first time in 25 years.

So far in my electorate of Griffith, my community has saved nearly $11 million because of our cheaper medicine initiatives. Let me be clear. When we reduce the cost of common medicines such as cholesterol tablets, antibiotics, blood pressure medication and anti-depressants, we're delivering real relief where people actually need it. We're also delivering on women's health. For the first time in more than 30 years, oral contraceptives like Yaz and Yasmin are listed on the PBS. Women who used to pay nearly $400 a year now pay $126. From next year, that will fall even further to just $25 per script and to $7.70 for concession card holders. The difference between $80 and $7.70 for essential medicines is the difference between exclusion and access—between anxiety and peace of mind.

Another Griffith local Gina shared with me her heartbreaking story of untreated infertility and endometriosis. Making more oral contraceptives available will be life changing for her, as she transitions through perimenopause. This is a view that was recently also shared with me when I met with the CEO of Pelvic Pain Australia, Renee Rankin. Renee and I discussed how expanding the range of affordable treatment options not only gives women more choice but reduces the burden of their symptoms on families, communities and the economy. This didn't happen by accident. It's a product of strong advocacy from pharmacists, the National Women's Health Advisory Council, clinicians and, most importantly, patients who raised their voices. As our Prime Minister said, the size of your bank balance shouldn't determine the quality of your health care.

When I think about what these measures will mean, I think about the young mum in Coorparoo who was weighing up whether to provide food for her kids or fill her script. I also think about that young woman cutting her medication in half to make it last longer. I also think about all of the families with young children who have cystic fibrosis and what these changes will mean for them. This bill reassures all of them that they don't have to choose between their health and their hip pocket—that their health and wellbeing matters. This is what fairness in health care looks like. It is cheaper medicines, a stronger Medicare and real relief for families. That is why I am proud to commend this bill to the House.

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