Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is a critical component of Australia's healthcare system. For decades it has ensured that Australians can access affordable medicines and treatments when they most need them. Under the PBS patients make a co-contribution towards the cost of their medicine and the Commonwealth covers the rest. For this year the patient co-contribution is $31.60 for general patients. This bill seeks to reduce that co-contribution from $31.60 to $25. It is an important change and one that the coalition supports. In fact, this bill reflects the coalition's commitment at the last election to guarantee cheaper medicines and lower the PBS co-payment to $25.

Right now Australians are under incredible pressure. Labor's cost-of-living crisis has forced families into impossible choices. More and more Australians are delaying or avoiding filling their scripts because they simply can't afford to do so. Last year alone eight per cent of Australians said that they delayed or went without their scripts because they couldn't afford to fill them. No Australian should have to make the choice between filling their scripts and putting food on the table—and that's on top of the 1.5 million Australians who said they avoided seeing the doctor because they couldn't afford to do so. That's 1.5 million Australians who didn't get a script at all.

This bill is a step towards easing the burden that has grown increasingly heavy under the Albanese Labor government. It ensures that Australians have more affordable access to medicines and treatments they need at a time when health care has never been more expensive. In fact right now it has never been harder or more expensive to see your GP. It builds on the coalition's proud record when it comes to the PBS. When in government, the coalition listed around 2,900 new or amended medicines on the PBS, an investment of over $16.5 billion. That investment ensured Australians had affordable access to potentially life-saving and life-changing medicines that would otherwise have cost them thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We also maintained our commitment to list every single medicine that had been approved through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Council on the PBS. This stands in stark contrast to Labor's record. When they were last in government, Labor stopped listing new medicines on the PBS because they ran out of money. That despicable decision meant that Australians missed out on treatments for severe asthma, chronic pain, schizophrenia, blood clots, IVF, endometriosis and prostate conditions. Sadly, history is repeating itself. Late last year almost 50 medicines were deferred from consideration because the PBAC imposed a cap on the number of medicines that they would review at their sitting. Why? Because the government has not provided adequate resources and the health minister turned a blind eye. Patients were again left waiting for access to new treatments at affordable prices.

We've seen the consequences of Labor's delays with the PBS—for example, for women living with endometriosis. The government announced the listing of Ryeqo on the PBS before the election, but that medicine had not been recommended for listing for more than 12 months. So for 12 months women who suffer from endometriosis waited for the government to make that decision—an entire year of avoidable delay for women suffering chronic pain. That is simply not good enough. We are now hearing from the pharmaceutical sector that the government is putting much more difficult terms for listing medicines on the PBS after those medicines have received PBAC approval. Like the capping of the number of medicines to be considered by PBAC, this is another backdoor way that the government is avoiding listing medicines on the PBS.

The coalition also initiated the health technology assessment review, an opportunity to look at how we can improve timely access to medicines for Australian patients. The findings of that critical review were brought down a year ago. In September 2024 the Albanese government received that review, yet they have done absolutely nothing for a year, despite the fact that we all agreed that it was absolutely essential that more was done to make sure the process didn't hinder Australians getting timely access to medicines. We say to the government that the time for reviewing things is over. The time for action is now. Patients are sick of waiting. The opposition is sick of waiting because this government is sitting on its hands when it comes to actually letting Australians get access to cheaper medicines.

So, whilst we absolutely support this bill, we call on the government to do more: to properly resource the PBAC listing process, to end the delays, to deliver on the HTA review and to ensure that Australians have timely, affordable access to the medicines they need. That is why I will be moving a second reading amendment, circulated in my name, which seeks for the Senate to note with concern the government's continued delays in implementing the recommendations of the health technology assessment review and to condemn the Prime Minister for his failure to secure a meeting with the President of the United States to advance Australia's interests in relation to possible pharmaceutical tariffs and other issues.

The coalition will always back Australians when it comes to getting access to affordable medicines. We led on cheaper medicines in the 2022 election, we committed to the $25 PBS co-payment in 2025 and we will continue to hold this government to account for its record of delays and failures. I commend the bill to the Senate. I move my amendment:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes with concern the Government's continuing delays in implementing the recommendations of the Health Technology Assessment review; and

(b) condemns the Prime Minister's failure to secure a meeting with the President of the United States to advance Australia's interests in relation to possible pharmaceutical tariffs and other issues".