Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the last couple of weeks over 450 people have contacted my office in support of Medicare. They were frightened by the changes that the Abbott government proposes to make. In a community like mine, where 95 per cent of visits to doctors are bulk-billed, Medicare matters. If a GP tax of $7.50 is introduced it will cost my electorate almost $9 million a year. That is $9 million per year ripped out of the pockets of families in Parramatta, ripped out of the businesses where that money might have been spent each year and placed into the coffers of the federal government.

Because I know the current government has not been listening to my community on this, I am going to read some of the statements that my community have made. Dixit said 'I strongly oppose extra fees to visit GPs. It's so unfair.' Maria said 'Yes, basic healthcare needs to be free and accessible for everyone.' Ann commented 'Everyone needs access to basic health not just those who are wealthy.' Margaret said 'There are too few bulk-billing services as it stands. Don't take this safety net away.' Edmund suggested 'The proposal to have co-payments for GP visits is retrograde.' Tejas said 'We want a bulk-billing facility.' Diane said 'Please have compassion on the citizens of Australia. Their best interests would be to keep Medicare.' I will give the final word to Christine, who said 'Tony Abbott leave Medicare alone.' (Time expired)