Ash Ambihaipahar (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in strong support of the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025. This is not just a piece of legislation. It is, absolutely, a lifeline for millions of Australians. It goes to the heart of what we stand for as a Labor government: fairness, dignity and health equity.

When I stood up in parliament for the first time, I used some of my speech to reflect on the history of the seat of Barton and its namesake. Barton is home to working families juggling bills, pensioners who've contributed a lifetime to this country, and migrants and multicultural communities who often face higher health burdens. One thing I hear from them constantly is that the cost of medicines matters to them.

During my time at St Vincent de Paul Society New South Wales I was looking after a broad area of New South Wales, with an amazing team of staff and volunteers, running Vinnies support centres and vans and also talking directly with my community. Many people make impossible choices, between paying for medication or paying their electricity bill, between putting food on the table and buying asthma medication for children. I think of a young mother from Hurstville who skips her own medication so she can afford antibiotics when her child gets sick or the pensioner from Beverly Hills who told me she would space out her medication, by taking it every second day instead of daily, just to manage her expenses.

We cannot ignore the pressures Australian households are under. The cost of living is front and centre in every conversation around the kitchen table, and healthcare costs—in particular, the cost of medicines—are one of the sharpest pain points for my community in Barton. No Australian should have to gamble with their health because of the cost of medicine.

This bill is about ending those impossible choices and restoring dignity to Australians. We have changed for the better as a nation and the St George area is a proud reflection of the vibrant and multicultural society we call home. But there are some things that have remained the same, and we should be very proud of them too. Labor's commitment to affordable, equitable health care is one of these things. Medicare is truly Australian. The little green card represents the right that everyone has to see a doctor and access medicine when we need it. Health care should never be about your bank account balance, your postcode, your gender or your ethnicity. You have a right to it because you're Australian, and that right is something our Labor government will always fight to protect.

In the last term, the Albanese Labor government took up that fight after years of coalition neglect. We introduced brand new policies that have saved Barton residents a total of $10,957,676. I'm going to say that again—$10,957,676. Those savings were delivered in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, too. The government was able to balance the budget, deliver real relief and begin rebuilding affordable health care. They did this through introducing new and innovative policies.

One example in Barton is the Carlton Urgent Care Clinic. For those watching online, don't forget that the urgent care clinic is at 354 Railway Parade, Carlton. It's open seven days a week, from 8 am to 8 pm, and all you need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.

Another example is 60-day prescriptions, and another is slashing co-payments. Let me tell you—doorknocking on those policies couldn't have been easier. Locals knew about them, were benefitting from them and were keen to talk about them. Remember the young mother and the pensioner? They're real people. I met one of them on their doorstep and the other one while I was working at St Vincent de Paul. This change will flow through the rest of their lives, not only benefitting their health but freeing up their budgets. Others had taken their kids to the UCC after a bad fall at soccer, or their local pharmacist had given them a 60-day script for blood pressure tablets or diabetes tablets.

Another thing I'm proud of is the advances we've made in treating endometriosis. We added new PBS listings for endometriosis and related reproductive health needs. Again, this slashes the everyday cost for women living with such a common but overlooked illness. We also expanded Medicare supports so that consultations are cheaper and established the first endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. These clinics create a dedicated space for women to receive a diagnosis, talk to a trusted health professional and receive local support. I would love to see such a clinic in south-west Sydney, should this project expand. Regardless, all of these changes are real and are already helping women across Barton.

When I met them during the campaign, these families trusted that Labor would continue to prioritise their health—and that is exactly what we're doing. The cheaper medicines bill implements the Albanese government's 2025 election commitment to reduce the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme general patient co-payment, again, from $31.60 to $25. The last time medicines were this cheap was in 2004! That was my last year of high school at Danebank. I was living in Hurstville and didn't have a licence. Me and my mates were trying to go and watch the film Mean Girls at Hurstville Westfield. Do you remember that?

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