JEROME LAXALE, MEMBER FOR BENNELONG: It’s so great to be here to talk about this wonderful announcement – a further $8.5 billion for Medicare. I’ve been the Member for three years now and the cost of seeing a doctor is something that was raised with me almost every day. My local GP benefitted from our first announcement, and that was to triple the bulk billing incentive for people under 16 and concession card holders. They were about to bring in a co-payment, but didn’t because of that first announcement. Yesterday’s announcement is important because it extends that tripling of the incentive to every Australian. It’ll help with cost of living, it’ll help with our health, and it’ll make our nation better. It’s so great to have the Prime Minister here to talk about it. Thank you, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, Jerome, and it's terrific to be here in Chatswood with you talking about our major reform to Medicare – the biggest investment in 40 years. The biggest investment before this was, of course, the one that we did in the Budget just a year ago, where we tripled the bulk billing incentive for 11 million Australians – concession card holders, families with children. And what that saw was that the bulk billing rate for those 11 million Australians was lifted up above 90%. We took that evidence and put it into our announcement to restore Medicare to what it should be. A place and a guarantee that you don't need your credit card – all you need is this card. Your Medicare card is what you need to get the best health care that you deserve. That's the Australian way. We don't need an Americanisation of the health system. What we need is for Australians to be able to rely upon the fact that when they need it, they'll get the care that they need. And primary health care through our GPs is so important. What it does is take pressure off public hospitals as well. Together with our Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, where we've opened 87 right around the country, introducing that mid-tier for things that are not life-threatening but need that urgent assistance – a broken arm, someone, your young one, falls off their bike and hurts themselves. Indeed, one in four of the people who've seen Medicare Urgent Care Clinics – more than a million Australians – have been under the age of 15. In addition to that, we're providing additional incentives for people to become GPs and also for people to undertake nursing and midwifery so that those scholarships will boost the workforce. So, this is a comprehensive plan that we have. It comes on top of the announcement that we made three weeks ago for $1.7 billion additional, next year, for hospitals through the state and territories hospital agreement for the coming financial year. Now, all of this is under threat if we are not successful in the election. What we know is that Peter Dutton, when he was Health Minister, ripped $50 billion out of the hospital system, tried to introduce a GP tax every time people visited a GP, which meant, of course, abolishing bulk billing altogether. We know that he said there were too many free visits to the doctor and that it was unsustainable, and that he said this over and over again. We know he tried to introduce a tax when people would visit a hospital, as well as a pharmaceutical tax. When he couldn't get his way on that, he froze the Medicare rebate for six years, which is why bulk billing went into free fall. Well, since we came into office, what we have been doing is making sure that we look after the health system because Medicare is the heart and soul of Australia's health system. It's a source of great pride that in this country, when you are sick, you get the help that you need, regardless of who you are, regardless of how wealthy you are, regardless of what your bank balance is. That is the Australian promise and that is something that my Government are determined to fulfil. This next election campaign will be about two different views of Australia. Our health system with Medicare at its heart, or Peter Dutton, who has never supported – very clearly on his own record – supported free health care. He says that there are too many. But in addition to that, he has done something else. One is he's exposed his lack of policy development. There is no Opposition health policy. They just said on Saturday – in something that was sincere as a fake tan – said that he'd match it. Well, it'll fade away just like a fake tan does. And when they come into office, you can rest assured, the cuts will be back. Because he needs to make cuts. He said already, as if he's the, somehow, heir to Campbell Newman's LNP throne and agenda. He said he'll slash 36,000 public servants. That means less people providing support for our veterans, less people providing the support that Australians need, perhaps more Robodebt being brought back as well. These are frontline jobs assisting Australians getting rid of that queue that was there in areas like veterans' affairs. Peter Dutton can't be trusted. And the next election will be about the divide in Australian politics between a Labor government providing services, providing responsible economic management in order to pay for it, and Peter Dutton's slashing and cuts in order to pay for $600 billion for his nuclear fantasy as well. We're now going to hear from a doctor and an almost doctor student in her fifth year.
DR SNEHA WADHWANI: As a GP in Australia for ten years, what is most important to us in the profession is continuity of care for our patients. We know that some patients are rationing their health care because of the cost involved. And this bulk billing incentive expansion represents a significant investment to the industry and more bulk billing for more patients in more practices and more access to that health care that they so greatly need. We also know in the profession that we are facing a crisis in terms of GP workforce shortage and what we need to do is make the profession more attractive to our doctors in waiting. And it is wonderful to see this investment as an incentive in that space where we can more competitively sit in a space where we can say that we are going to be rewarded for the work that we do in the same way that specialists are. So over to Anika, who is my fifth-year medical student from UNSW.
ANIKA DEVA: I think, as a medical student, I think there's a big misconception that general practice is perhaps not the most valuable or attractive specialty. And I think I've had the privilege of witnessing firsthand just how valuable general practice is in the past few months. And this incentive would really help medical students to feel that they have a more viable future in general practice. And I think that it really aligns with what I now know is the true value of general practice and really pushes us in the right direction for everyone to see that as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, Anika, and Australia is in good hands with young Australians like yourself. Happy to take questions. Paul -
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there's been $124 billion more of discretionary spending as a result of your decisions in the first term of government. Is it your view, and how can you claim, that this didn't keep inflation higher and interest rates higher for longer?
PRIME MINISTER: Listen to the Reserve Bank Governor who's made her position very clear. We produced, you've forgotten, we produced two Budget surpluses. You've given a figure based upon important spending on services. What you haven't listed is the $90 billion of savings that we have made – efficiencies. We turned a $78 billion deficit that the Liberals left us, a $78 billion Liberal deficit, into a $22 billion Labor surplus. We followed that up with another $15 billion surplus. We have saved, in terms of debt, some $200 billion since we came to office. That's our record. Responsible economic management. Wages up, inflation down to 2.4%, debt down, interest rates falling now, and tax cuts for every taxpayer whilst we've found space to provide important health and education funding.
JOURNALIST: PM, economists are saying that this pre-election spending is going be have to, have to paid for, be paid for by taxpayers paying in the form of bracket creep. Does this pre-election spending basically mean that there's going to be no adjustment to the tax brackets in the next term of government.
PRIME MINISTER: What this is is an investment. And one of the things that occurs as well is that Mr And Mrs Jones or Smith, who arrive at this general practice and see the doctor and get the care that they need when they need it. That's option A. Option B is Mr And Mrs Jones can't afford to visit their local GP, so they put it off and they wait. And then they end up in the emergency department of a hospital that costs far more in terms of their finances. But importantly as well, the human cost of that is that issues that can be small become much larger and much more acute in terms of people's health. Getting primary health care right creates a healthier society. A healthier society is one that is more productive, where people are able to participate in the workforce, take less time off because they are healthy. There's a range of second round effects here. If we get healthcare right, it's good for our economy as well as being good for our society.
JOURNALIST: But I think taxpayers are also wondering how we're going to pay for it. Peter Dutton has explained how he's planning on paying for it in terms of finding savings from public service, but I think people want to find out how we’re going to pay for it
PRIME MINISTER: He has 36,000 public servants who he says that he will sack, meaning we’ll go back to the queues of veterans who've served us in uniform, served our nation in the Australian Defence Force, not getting the support that they’re entitled to. That was what was going on under the former government, as well as waiting lists in so many areas, not being able to get the services that they require. And at the same time, billions of dollars being spent with the big four accounting firms. So, people who were public servants earning $100,000 a year, suddenly working for one of the big four accounting firms, earning two or three times as much, working half as hard and putting the bill to taxpayers. That is what the system is that we inherited. And we will, of course, we accounted for much of this money as well in the Mid Year Economic Forecast. We have gone through the Budget line by line. We didn't do what the Coalition did, which was on Sunday say – oh yeah, we'll just make this big commitment without knowing what it is, without seeing any of the detail, before it's even been announced. I mean, quite frankly, the economic irresponsibility that the Coalition continue to show is one of the reasons why they left us with a $78 billion deficit that we turned into a $22 billion surplus.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the Pope, are you praying for him as he deals with his health issues?
PRIME MINISTER: Pope Francis is someone who I have the utmost respect for. What he has achieved with his leadership of the Catholic Church is one in which not just every Catholic, but I think other people as well, of different faiths, will be praying for Pope Francis in what is a difficult time.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, will Australia be involved in peace negotiations between the US, Ukraine and Russia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not – we have not been involved in that. But our position is very clear. We regard the struggle of the people of Ukraine as being a struggle between a country defending its sovereignty, defending its borders, defending the rule of law, a democracy – in the Ukraine – versus an authoritarian regime that has breached international law, that has engaged in barbaric activity and attacks against infrastructure and civilians in Ukraine. This is an unlawful action by Russia. We have stood with the people of Ukraine because their struggle is the struggle for the international rule of law.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Labor is accusing Peter Dutton of purchasing shares in the big banks the day before Labor announced bailouts in 2009. Is Labor accusing the Opposition Leader of insider trading?
PRIME MINISTER: That's a matter for Peter Dutton to explain.
JOURNALIST: I'm not sure we have an answer on bracket creep there. Is bracket creep a problem that you'll seek to address through more income tax cuts in the next term, or should Australians expect better services but no tax cuts.
PRIME MINISTER: With respect, Paul. I did answer the question. It mightn't be the one that you like, but I did answer the question.
JOURNALIST: So we could get tax cuts in the next term, or just better services -
JOURNALIST: Does it concern you that it was a Virgin pilot that alerted Australia about the Chinese live fire exercise rather than Defence?
PRIME MINISTER: The Australian Defence Force was certainly aware and I've spoken with the Chief of the Defence Force about what has occurred. Australia has had frigates, both monitoring by sea and by air, of the presence in the region of these Chinese vessels.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why has the Government delayed a decision on the Woodside-run North West Shelf gas project? Are you just playing politics?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: That could be a demand, though, of Kate Chaney in a minority government. What are you going to do there?
PRIME MINISTER: These matters are before the Environment Minister. The Environment Minister responds in accordance with the law. Thank you. Thanks very much.