Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion in relation to bulk-billing, and I say to the Australian taxpayer who may be watching: this is what we're actually using taxpayer funds to debate. We've got a government motion—so a motion that's moved by a member of the Australian government—that commends the government's record and that thanks the government for its investments.

When I came to this place, I came here—maybe I was aspirational or hopeful—because I thought that we would actually be having conversations about how we can make this country better and how we can take this country into the future, not just come and speak on motions that are congratulating the government, which is something that we seem to do very often in this place.

But, if the government wants to speak about bulk-billing and if the government wants to speak about health, let's speak about it, because the simple fact is that Labor's bulk-billing rates are lower than the bulk-billing rates under the coalition. We've seen a government which has attacked private health care and older Australians in particular over the last couple of months in a way that is not only negligible but absolutely unconscionable. Labor's urgent care clinics look far too much like political infrastructure instead of health infrastructure, and the reality of bulk-billing is that Labor says it's strengthening Medicare, but patients are asking, including in my electorate on the Gold Coast, why it's actually costing them more to see a GP.

In 2021-22, when we left office, GP bulk-billing was at around 88 per cent. But by 2023-24 it had fallen to 77 per cent, and the July to March 2025-26 year-to-date figure is around 79 per cent, still far below what it was under the former, coalition government. In fact, bulk-billing rose under the previous, coalition government, from around 83 per cent in late 2013 to around 88 per cent in 2022. That's the reality. Those are the facts. If the government wants to speak about it, let's talk about it.

There's private health insurance and older Australians. What we've seen over the last couple of months is a decision by this government to cut the private health rebate for around 3.2 million older Australians, which will hurt our most vulnerable people at the time of their life when they need it the most. Labor is testing the resilience of our health system at the expense of older Australians, and that is wrong. It is wrong on so many levels.

If we're looking at urgent care clinics, Labor is failing on health, but it's always ready to use health and to use health care when it comes to political advantage or political opportunities. Nowhere is that clearer than in Labor's Medicare urgent care clinics campaign. We've run the numbers, and what we've come up with is actually quite interesting. Labor electorates are around 3.5 times more likely than coalition electorates to have two or more urgent care clinics. I think that's quite surprising, especially when you take into account the size of coalition electorates, which are on average larger and more regional and rural. So you'd expect them to be prioritised on the basis of size and service need, but that's not something that we're seeing from this government. What we're seeing is a Labor government that's using taxpayer funded clinics to shore up its own marginal seats. Again, that is wrong.

The assault by this government on older Australians and on people who depend on our healthcare system seems to have no bounds. I represent an electorate on the southern Gold Coast which has an average age demographic that is slightly higher than the national average, so people are speaking to me day after day about these changes, because they're feeling them and they're feeling them compounded with what's happening as a result of the government's cost-of-living crisis.

So I'd say to the government: look at what you're doing. Instead of just coming in here and moving motions congratulating yourselves and patting yourselves on the back, bring the facts. Let's talk about them, because what we need to do is come up with system that protects those Australians who depend on our healthcare system, not punishes them. Labor promised stronger Medicare, but Australians are getting higher costs and fewer bulk-billing options, which is putting more pressure on the healthcare system, and older Australians are being hit. Patients are being required to pay more, and health funding is being used for political gain.

Labor can spin the figures, but Australians know the truth when they pay at the GP counter. It's not a record to celebrate. It's a record that Labor should be ashamed of and should be held accountable for.

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