Page 873 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
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worked hard. He has a skill that our local community needs. He has sunk his life savings into developing a bulk-billing medical centre that Lanyon residents need and want, and the government’s response to the good doctor who is trying to do the right thing has simply been, “Pay up.”
This is absurd. This is senseless. As I have already said, this is Kafkaesque. This motion highlights the fact that with this Assembly’s support this can be a win-win outcome for the government and the people of Lanyon. Indeed, as Mr Coe said, no-one need lose here, but everyone is losing at the moment. Should the motion not succeed, this could very well be the end of the possibility of having a medical facility on block 12, section 229, Conder, certainly in the near future. I leave this for members in this Assembly to decide the fate of the medical centre.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Sport and Recreation, Minister for Tourism and Events and Minister for Community Services) (4.32): I thank Mr Smyth for raising this matter. Before I turn to the specific development in question, I will just touch on the first points of Mr Smyth’s motion. I certainly enjoy the irony of those opposite purporting to have any interest at all in bulk-billing, coming from the party that hates Medicare—hated and voted against its introduction, has hated it throughout its existence and is now proposing to undermine it in its federal budget. One has only to look at the federal coalition opening the door to charging co-payments. Bulk-billing is gone and we are getting co-payments. We are getting co-payments from the commonwealth government, from the Liberal Party, who opposed the introduction of Medicare in the first place.
Mr Smyth: On a point of order, Madam Assistant Speaker, the motion—unfortunately Mr Barr seems not to have read it—is about a medical centre in Tuggeranong. I ask you to bring him to order and make him relevant to the debate.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Lawder): Thank you, Mr Smyth. I think Mr Barr was getting to the point. He was referring to some of your opening comments. Mr Barr, I am sure you will be addressing the motion.
MR BARR: Thank you, Madam Assistant Speaker. Looking at the news this morning, there is the prospect of patients being charged a co-payment for use of health services for those people who have conditions that could be treated by general practitioners. The commonwealth are proposing to put in place a co-payment, so no wonder those opposite are sensitive. One only has to look at the comments made yesterday from the coalition that they will be scrapping funding for GP clinics around the country. Undermining Medicare is the Liberal way; they have been doing it for 30 years. And these moves certainly speak great volumes about the Liberal Party’s commitment to bulk-billing.
In regard to bulk-billing in the territory itself, the territory government is not able to influence the rate of bulk-billing of patients. These are, of course, matters of a private business and are determined between the doctor or practice and the patient. Further, the medical benefit schedule of fees is, of course, set by the federal government. The ACT government is not able to change the scheduled fees nor require GPs to bulk-bill.
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