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

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has been a member of this House for almost 30 years and now lives a privileged life in the Lodge and Kirribilli House. He has never dealt with the challenge of accessing health care in regional and remote Australia. Why is this arrogant Prime Minister pursuing a reckless policy which will close pharmacies and deprive Australians of vital access to health care? How on earth can Australians get cheaper medicines from their local pharmacy if that pharmacy closes?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for her question. It is true that I do not live in regional Australia. I live in Australia's largest inland city—the one we are in right now, Canberra. It's true that, like the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, all of us in this chamber live a life of relative privilege, compared with the people that we represent. That is right. It's precisely why we need to do whatever we can to look after people and to address cost-of-living pressures. It's why the 60-day dispensing is aimed precisely at that and precisely at making sure that, instead of having to go twice to the pharmacy—once on day 30 and once on day 60—you go once. If you go once, you are cutting the price literally in half as well as taking pressure off the medical system by having fewer journeys to the doctor.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Acting Leader of the Opposition has asked the question. The Prime Minister will be heard in silence as she was heard in silence when she asked the question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was pleased yesterday to read a press release from the shadow health minister. I thought that the party that have been obsessed with saying no to everything were about to have a kumbaya moment and say something positive. It began:

The Coalition strongly supports Australians having access to cheaper medicines.

Excellent! Then it went on to say in the very next sentence:

We support 60-day dispensing.

I thought: 'This is going well. That's the way.' Then I read the next word: 'However, even though we support it all, we're against it. And what we'll do is we'll put a disallowance motion in the Senate. We'll hold a press conference with all the drama—the Nats and the Libs out there—and we're going to knock it over tomorrow.' Do you know what they did in the Senate earlier today? They lost six votes trying to block the vote being held on their motion. Then, when that all failed, they withdrew the moving of the motion. Now it sits on the Notice Paper as an orphan. No-one's moving it. No-one's associated with it. What a farce!