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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 167 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, our community needs policy responses from the Commonwealth government. In the ACT, as members are well aware from the debate this morning, we have the lowest rate of bulk-billing in the country. We have similar problems with attracting GPs as do many rural, regional and outer metropolitan areas around the country. We have costs in our health system escalating more quickly than the consumer price index-along with every other health system in the country. We have the failure of the Commonwealth's $2.2 billion private health insurance rebate to shift people from public to private hospitals occurring here, in the same way that we have in every hospital in the country. Senator Patterson has no response to these issues and appears unwilling to even front up to discuss them.

It is now time for the Commonwealth to come to the table and discuss these matters. When I go to Melbourne on Friday, I will be making very clear the pressures the ACT community faces on bulk-billing, the availability of GPs, pressures in our public hospital system, the subsequent failure of the private health insurance rebate and the need to address that-as will, I am sure, every one of my colleagues from every state and territory in the country.

I wanted the Commonwealth minister to be there to both hear those concerns and to respond to them-perhaps not with a detailed plan but at least the preparedness to discuss the matters and identify ways forward. We do not even have that, Mr Speaker, and that is a matter of extreme disappointment for this government. Nevertheless, I, along with my colleagues from the states and territories, will continue to advance our agenda for reform-reform which our health system needs and reform which is acknowledged as being needed not only by state and territory governments but by doctors, doctors associations, specialists, specialists associations, nurses and their unions. The states and territories understand the complexities and challenges we face. It is time for the Commonwealth to come to the party as well.

MS MacDONALD: Minister, can you detail to the Assembly the agenda you will be pursuing at Friday's meeting?

MR CORBELL: I have given some indication of that, Mr Speaker. Members will perhaps recall that, in the debate this morning, I outlined the agenda for reform which all state and territory ministers agreed to at the meeting in early February which was going to be formally presented to the minister on Friday. If she is not there, maybe one of her public servants will show up to take it.

Aside from bulk-billing and GP numbers, there is a range of other very important issues. These include, first and foremost, the issue of indexation for health costs in relation to public hospital services. The indexation rate was originally set in the previous Australian Health Care Agreement. It was agreed that, if there was dispute over the rate of indexation, the rate of indexation would be set by an independent arbiter.

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