Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was in Launceston the day the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health and Ageing came down and made the announcement that nine in 10 visits to the GP would be bulk-billed. Before we were even off the stage, there was a press release from those opposite saying what a fantastic policy it was and that they had already done it. Before we even put the so-called fine print into how it was actually going to work and the modelling and the work behind it, they said they had already matched it. We are now hearing that, no, it's actually not a position that they stand by. I'm not actually clear where they stand on this. When it suits them, they are all over it. They were announcing urgent care clinics before us. They were racing around trying to get there and announce Medicare, saying it will be better under the coalition, but, on day one, we're back here and they say: 'Oh no, that's a disaster. It's another broken promise.'

The promise was—and we stand by it entirely, and the Prime Minister was right—that nine in 10 visits would be bulk-billed by 2030. July 2025 is the date at the moment, so I think it's a bit early to be making that criticism. We're just implementing the policy; it's already working. We have tripled the bulk-billing incentive. My colleague Senator Ghosh ran through how effectively that is already performing. We are already seeing a turnaround in bulk-billing rates; the incentive is working.

There are four pillars, really, to the policy. It's not just about the incentive; it's about more doctors and nurses. Our universities are now training, particularly in my home state of Tasmania—record numbers of doctors are coming through the system. They now see that they've got a future in health care because we are investing so heavily in primary health care and that they will be able to bulk-bill patients.

The incentive is about more bulk-billing. We've talked about getting to that target of nine out of 10 visits being bulk-billed by 2030. Those opposite seem very confused by this whole idea that 76 per cent of clinics bulk-billing is consistent with nine in 10 patients being bulk-billed. They are compatible. That is the case; you can achieve both. They seem to be very confused by those two figures somehow working against each other. That modelling is out there. It was in the press release. When it came out, they were so quick to rush out and back the policy and announce it beforehand, but they didn't actually bother to look at the modelling.

So there'll be more doctors and nurses and more bulk-billing. More urgent care clinics is another key facet. That was probably the most popular issue raised as I walked around the streets of Hobart and Launceston through the campaign—even in the north-west. They all said: 'When are we going to get more of those urgent care clinics? They're fantastic.' 'I didn't have to go to hospital.' 'I didn't have to queue at the emergency department.' And guess what? It was bulk-billed; it was free. All you needed was your Medicare card—no credit card. It's pretty consistent with what the statements told us we were going to get. So, the way I see it, this is working. It's being rolled out, and we are seeing an improvement.

The final pillar—after more doctors and nurses, more bulk-billing and more urgent care clinics—is cheaper medicines. We have seen the price of medicines continue to come down. Again, giving people access to that critical medication keeps them out of hospital, keeps them healthy, keeps them in the workforce and is a real cost-of-living relief measure. So I'm quite surprised that the opposition led off question time with that topic. I think we would be happy to talk about Medicare all day and all night for as long as they like.

I was also a bit disappointed that we continue to see this conflation of trade and biosecurity. As we know, the import restrictions on beef were under review for a decade. That was a process undertaken by biosecurity experts, and officials have looked very carefully at this issue. Then somehow conflating it with some discussion about trade policy out of the United States—they are two totally separate issues. Yes, the Minister for Trade and Tourism made a mistake, and he corrected it. But then for two days, as though no-one's ever made a mistake before, we've just carried on with this charade about it being linked to the policy issues.

Australia doesn't agree with the United States' tariff policy. We'll continue to advocate for lower tariffs and a free trade system. (Time expired)