Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I'll talk about Maranoa. This week a standard bulk-billed consult in a beautiful town like Ballina gets about $42 from Medicare. Next week it will be $82. That's from $42 to $82 in one week. I do wonder, where are the Nationals, if it's so good for regional Australia? Where are the Nationals, I wonder? They stood by and did nothing when Liberal's, led by the Leader of the Opposition, ripped the heart out of Medicare by freezing the Medicare rebate, and it's the same story today. What about the leader of the National Party? There are 27 clinics that are going to be fully bulk-billing in Maranoa next week, but what do we hear from the Leader of the Nationals? Nothing. The member for Flynn up there, he's been pretty chatty over the last couple of weeks—he has 22 clinics going to bulk-billing next week. There are crickets, absolute crickets, from the member for Flynn and the chatty member for Fadden, who has 22 clinics as well—absolute crickets! They talk non-stop about everything except health care, everything except bulk-billing, everything except cheaper medicine. That's alright by us, because we've got even more members on this side representing regional Australia, and they're willing to fight for bulk-billing. They're willing to fight for the power of this beautiful little card, and they're willing to fight for a stronger Medicare.

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