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

My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister please explain to the House how direct billing would work?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The shadow minister has been the shadow minister for how long? And she does not understand some of the basic concepts that have been around in health policy for how long? But I would be delighted to arrange a private briefing for the member for Ballarat—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

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

The member for Isaacs will desist or leave!

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

because I do not want to embarrass her here on the floor of the parliament.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

I know it is Thursday afternoon, and the anxiousness to get an early mark is becoming more and more apparent—even if it is on a bus. We will have some silence for questions and answers for the remainder of the time or there will be lots of people queuing for the bus.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

And that includes the member for Sydney.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition will ask a question but they will not always listen to the answer, which is unfortunate. There is no doubt that direct billing is a policy idea. As I said, there are many policy ideas that have come to the coalition. If the member for Ballarat is so bereft of policy ideas that she has to ask us, that is an interesting point in itself.

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting—

Ms Owens interjecting—

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

The member for Adelaide will desist and the member for Parramatta has been warned.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, explanations can be arranged via the coalition or the Parliamentary Library.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The Minister for Health has the call and there will be silence for the answer.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many ideas about future policies in health have come to the coalition during the course of my consultations, and direct billing has been one of them. Direct billing looks different in different circumstances. It is a policy idea that, as I said, has been around for a long time. It is one of many ideas that have come to me from across the country. I make absolutely no apology for considering every idea that comes across my desk and listening to everything that is presented or for looking at the context in which we as a parliament should all try to make Medicare sustainable.

At the moment, the opposition have no ideas in this space. They are a policy-free zone. When I go back and look to see what ideas they might have had in the past all I can come up with is something that the member for Ballarat should be familiar with, which is the super epic GP superclinics fail which was investigated by the Auditor-General, a body with which the member for Ballarat should be eminently familiar. It made some very clear points about Labor policy failures in the past, so do not criticise us about constructive policy formation.