Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday we learned that the Prime Minister told the Australian Medical Association that he was willing to look at alternative models for his unfair GP tax. If the Prime Minister is preparing to cave on the GP tax, why will not he just cave-in on his entire budget of broken promises?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again we have a curious question which is really a series of statements without much focus, shall we say; but, if the Prime Minister wishes to answer, I will let the question stand.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government is determined to ensure that there is a modest copayment for GP services. Just as members opposite support a modest copayment for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, this government supports a modest copayment for Medicare. There was a time when members opposite thought that a modest copayment for Medicare made sense. Prime Minister Bob Hawke supported a copayment. The member for Jagajaga supported a copayment. The shadow assistant Treasurer—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There is a challenge under the ruling that you had previously given and which we have all been abiding by on the way you were going to interpret standing order 68. We have respected that you have requested that objections only be made by the person who gave the personal explanation. The Prime Minister is now giving misrepresentations about a member who is not even here today—for significant reasons—and I simply ask you in those circumstances to intervene.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You have asked me to intervene in a way which is opposed to my original ruling. I am not of a mind to do that, but I will suggest that, when members or ministers generally are speaking about the matter concerning the member for Jagajaga, if they say that she was chair of a committee which found as follows then it is in order; but, if they say she held a particular point of view at a particular time, that is a different matter. So I invite the Prime Minister resume his answer—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The last thing I want to do is to verbal the absent, so, to assist you, Madam Speaker, I withdraw. But the fact is—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

I have withdrawn.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs has been warned, I would remind him. One more utterance and he will leave. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me repeat for the benefit of members opposite. They support a modest copayment for the PBS. They did support a modest copayment for Medicare. The Labor shadow assistant Treasurer still supports a modest copayment for Medicare.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. If you're going to axe the GP tax, why don't you axe—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat will resume her seat. That is a deliberate flouting of the standing orders. It is not acceptable to simply go to the microphone and shout. The Prime Minister has the call.

Andrew Leigh (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order, again on standing order 68. The Prime Minister is incorrect to say that I currently support the government's policy on this. I have changed my view as he has. My view now accords with—

Government members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. There will be silence.

Honourable members interjecting—

There will be silence on both sides, and that includes the member for Ballarat. My original ruling stands. If people wish to refer to the member for Fraser's writing when he said such and such was true, that remains a fact, but if they try and impute a current belief to him which he refutes then standing order 68 will apply.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am perfectly prepared to accept that the member for Fraser has been bullied into changing his mind.

Mr Shorten interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will desist.

Mr Burke interjecting—

No, I am not taking another point. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If it is right and proper for members opposite—

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to support a modest copayment on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, how can it not be right and proper to support an equally modest copayment on Medicare?

I can tell you why the government has done a number of tough and difficult things in this budget. We have done tough and difficult things because we want to restore the budget to balance and eventually to surplus, and once upon a time even the member for Ballarat thought that was a good policy. She said two years ago:

The Government is delivering a surplus with targeted and responsible savings while protecting the frontline services Australians rely on and helping families with cost of living pressures.

We are doing exactly the same thing.