David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor has always been the party of health care—from the Curtin and Chifley governments' work establishing the PBS, to Whitlam's universal healthcare reforms, to Hawke's Medicare. Now, under the Albanese Labor government, we continue that tradition with the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025 passing the parliament this week.

We believe that every Australian should be able to afford the medicine they need without worrying about the cost. That's why, from 1 January 2026, no Australian will pay more than $25 for a general PBS script. That is a cut of more than 25 per cent, saving Australians over $200 million every single year. Medicines haven't cost $25 in Australia since 2004—the same year Shannon Noll topped the charts with his cover of 'What About Me?' Yes, it was a cover.

That was the same year that Senator Walker from the other place was born. For that little boy in the corner shop, for the last 12 months, Labor has delivered in Bean. We've delivered a Medicare mental health clinic in Tuggeranong, saved the Interchange Health general practice and Burrangiri, opened the tender for an urgent care clinic in Woden, and we'll be delivering a perinatal wellbeing centre in Tuggeranong. And now, from 1 January 2026, we'll be delivering cheaper medicines because we care about the cost of living and have always, always been the party of health care in Australia.

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