Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) | Hansard source

The member for Macarthur was going so well until he started bagging the coalition out. But I do want to just acknowledge the member for Macarthur because I think he's a decent fellow and he is a lifelong paediatrician who has served his local community. Good on him. We need more paediatricians. You should go back and be a paediatrician, serving your local community that way. Those members opposite often talk about how they're the champions of Medicare. Well, I've got to tell you that the coalition absolutely supports Medicare. It absolutely supports it. The last thing we would want to see in Australia is a US-style healthcare system where, if you get sick and seriously sick, then that could often be a death sentence to you, or certainly a life-changing situation. The beauty about a universal healthcare system in this country such as Medicare is that it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter how wealthy you are, it doesn't matter what your job is and it doesn't matter what your postcode is; you will be able to get the world's best treatment at a tertiary hospital, provided you live in the cities. For those people who live in the bush or live in rural and regional Australia, it's a lot harder. They have to often be transferred to a tertiary hospital through organisations like the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who do incredible work. But the coalition is absolutely supportive of Medicare because it does provide access to world-class doctors and world-class medical treatment.

The motion that's before the House today notes that bulk-billing has ticked up in the March quarter. The motion congratulates Labor on spending $8.5 billion of taxpayers' money. It pats itself on the back for 3,800 bulk-billing practices. But it says nothing about the Australians who still can't find a doctor, still can't afford one and still see their local services being hollowed out. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare tells us that, after peaking at around 89 per cent in 2020, the national GP bulk-billing rate fell to 77 per cent in 2023 and only inched back to 78 per cent in the first 10 months of 2024, still well below where it was under the coalition. For the key working age group, 16- to 64-year-olds, bulk-billing sits at around 69 per cent. Labor's so-called 'free health care' is least available to the Australians most likely to be juggling work, children and mortgages. Out-of-pocket costs have surged. Independent analysis shows that, in two-thirds of electorates, average out-of-pocket fees for a standard consult now exceed $45 and, in some electorates, the total cost of a visit is pushing beyond $100. In my own electorate of Fisher, non-bulk-billed patients are paying significantly more than they were just a couple of years ago, even after Labor's so-called Strengthening Medicare reforms. That is not a system delivering free health care; that is a system shifting more costs onto ordinary patients.

This motion doesn't mention that Labor's incentive has sent more money into already well-served communities while underserved regional, rural and outer suburban areas see clinics close, doctors leave and patients travel further and pay more. It doesn't mention that 12 leading nursing and healthcare organisations have warned a Senate inquiry that Medicare policy is materially compromising timely access to care in rural and regional Australia. Under Labor, nurse practitioner bulk-billing has fallen sharply, and regional patients are being slugged more at exactly the time they can least afford it.

The coalition is absolutely committed to Medicare. It always will be in the future. Medicare is a vital part of the health services in this country— (Time expired)

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