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

Thank you to the member for Whitlam who brings a wealth of experience to this parliament, including her time leading one of Australia's biggest disability providers. She completely gets the importance of strong health and social care systems that are supported by government. Last week I was delighted to join her at the official opening of the Shellharbour Medicare urgent care clinic. That clinic was promised by the member for Whitlam, and the only reason we were able to open it was that we won the election, because the Leader of the Opposition at least was upfront in telling the people of Shellharbour that, if the Liberal Party won, there'd be no Shellharbour Medicare urgent care clinic. But it is there and it's already delivering high-quality urgent care completely free of charge. It's just one example of the member for Whitlam's promise to deliver a stronger Medicare.

But her question also implies that there has always been, as there has been, a fundamental difference between the two major parties when it comes to Medicare. The now leader of the opposition is no different in this respect from all of his predecessors. He supported Peter Dutton's GP tax. He cheered Sussan Ley when she extended the Medicare rebate freeze for four long years, and he said it should be extended to the whole healthcare system. Last term, when he was the shadow Treasurer, he described our urgent-care-clinic funding as wasteful spending.

But not even the Leader of the Opposition has said the quiet bits out loud quite like the shadow Treasurer, a man who seems completely devoid of an inside voice. He's not going to be bothered with freezing the Medicare rebate; he wants to tear the whole system down. This is what he's written. He wants to see 'the transfer of health financing shifted from government to individuals'. Put simply, every Australian would have an individual health account that they'd contribute to on a periodic basis from their income, and that savings account would be used to pay for healthcare services as required through their lifetime. It's hard to see how a bulk-billed urgent care clinic survives in the shadow Treasurer's world. But, still, the Leader of the Opposition thought that this man was the right man to steer the Liberal Party's alternative budget strategy—a bloke who wants to privatise Medicare; a bloke who wants to foist American-style healthcare on the Australian people.

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