Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

As you would know, Senator Stewart, when we came to government in 2022, about a million Australians were not filling their prescriptions, because they could not afford them. They weren't filling their prescriptions, because they couldn't afford them. This was the situation when those opposite were in government. So we delivered the largest cut to the price of PBS medicines in the history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, cutting the maximum price from $42.50 to $30, and freezing the price at $7.70 per script for concession card holders and pensioners.

Now, colleagues, do we remember what the coalition did when faced with the opportunity to help Australians afford their medicine? Can we remember what they did when cheaper medicines came before this chamber? They voted against it. They voted against cheaper medicine. They voted against more money in Australians' pockets. We on this side will not be deterred. This week we are going further— (Time expired)