Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Hansard source

On 1 May, the Prime Minister held up his green Medicare card and declared, 'Under Labor, all you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card, to see a doctor.' Well, I can tell you this: that is not absolutely true in my electorate of Dawson. In Dawson, you can wave that Medicare card as much as you like, but unless you have your credit card, you can't see a doctor. In Mackay, a regional city of 130,000 people, there is not one single bulk-billing clinic. If you don't have a concession card, you cannot see a doctor without your credit card. In the Whitsundays, Bowen and the Burdekin it's the same story: not one clinic. The nearest bulk-billing clinic is in Townsville, an 800-kilometre round trip from Mackay. That's eight hours of driving and more than $100 in out-of-pocket expenses for fuel alone, just to see a bulk-billing GP. That's not Medicare, that's 'Medi-don't-care'.

All last week we heard that side boast, 'In my electorate we've got these bulk-billing clinics.' Frankly, I'm sick to death with how Labor only cares about their own backyard. The people on that side couldn't care less about the communities suffering under Labor's blatant neglect. We're not talking about tiny backwater towns here; Mackay has a population of more than 130,000 people, and there is not one single fully-bulk-billed GP. Medi-fail! And yet, while regional Australians are struggling to access a GP, the government recently announced $10.5 million for three bulk-billing clinics in Canberra. Canberra, the wealthiest city in the country, where the median household income is 30 per cent higher than the national average. Meanwhile, regional Australians—farmers, tradies, nurses and teachers—are forced to fork out cash that they simply don't have just to get basic health care. The hypocrisy couldn't be any clearer. Labor talks about strengthening Medicare but, in reality, it has weakened access for the very Australians who rely on it most.

Let's look at the facts. People in regional areas are 50 per cent more likely to delay or skip seeing a GP, due to cost, compared to those in the cities. This government loves to talk about record funding, but in communities like mine none of that is reaching the front line. Since Labor came to office, out-of-pocket healthcare costs have jumped by 25 per cent in the electorate of Dawson alone. Families and pensioners are paying more, they're waiting longer and they're getting less. That's not a healthcare system to be proud of; that's a crisis. And what's the government's answer? 'Don't worry, nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed by 2030.' 2030! Tell that to a pensioner in Proserpine who can't get a doctor's appointment now. Tell that to a young family in Bowen choosing between groceries or a GP visit. They don't need a promise of 2030; they need a doctor today. Real Medicare is about care on the ground, not slogans in Canberra. You can't deliver bulk-billing by throwing money at city clinics, when regional towns go without doctors, nurses and clinics entirely. Labor needs a plan—one that recognises that regional Australians deserve the same access to health care as those in capital cities.

The Prime Minister says Medicare represents who we are, but I say this right now: Medicare represents a growing divide between city and country. The people of Dawson don't need slogans; they need services. Until this government stops pretending that Melbourne and Mackay are the same and that metro and regional health systems are equal, we will keep seeing the same result. Regional Australians are paying more, travelling further and getting less. It's time this government delivers Medicare that actually works for all Australians. In the mean time, regional Australians will have to keep carrying their credit cards because their little, green Medicare card is little more than a discount voucher.

See this speech in context