Tuesday, 31 October 2023

Payroll tax

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the Premier. SIA Medical Centre has eight clinics located across Victoria, including one in the electorate of Mulgrave. The managing director has said that because of the health tax ‘bulk-billing will cease to exist’ and ‘a lot of GP clinics will end up closing down’. Why is the Premier imposing a health tax that will end bulk billing in Victoria?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Yan Yean can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Yan Yean withdrew from chamber.

The SPEAKER: On a point of order, the Minister for Transport Infrastructure.

Danny Pearson: Speaker, I seek your guidance on this question. The question relates to bulk-billing. Bulk-billing is a responsibility of the Commonwealth government. How on earth can the Leader of the Opposition ask the Premier a question in relation to a Commonwealth responsibility?

John Pesutto: Speaker, can I address the query?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Tarneit can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Tarneit withdrew from chamber.

John Pesutto: Speaker, it was not a point –

The SPEAKER: On the point of order.

John Pesutto: It was not a point of order, with respect, Speaker. The minister stood up and said ‘I seek clarification’. It was not a point of order. He did not say it was a point of order.

Members interjecting.

John Pesutto: Can I address the query? He was given leave to raise –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order!

John Pesutto: Can I address the query on bulk-billing?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, yes, the minister did not make a point of order, and if you had waited a few moments, I would have ruled that he had not made a point of order and I would have ruled your question in order. Your question is in order. The Premier is to answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:11): The Leader of the Opposition asked about bulk-billing services for the community of Mulgrave, and I am very happy to provide information for the benefit of the Leader of the Opposition about how we are taking action to improve access to GPs and bulk-billing services for not just the community of Mulgrave but indeed 27 locations around the state, where we are establishing priority primary care centres. I remind the Leader of the Opposition of the reason why we have had to step in. This is an unprecedented step, where we as a state government have had to step in and ensure that Victorians have access to bulk-billing GPs.

John Pesutto interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN: The question was about bulk-billing GPs, Leader of the Opposition.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was pretty specifically about the managing director of SIA’s comment about bulk-billing ending because of the Premier’s new health tax. I ask you to draw her back to the question.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said, I was addressing directly the Leader of the Opposition’s question about bulk-billing services for the Mulgrave community, and I am delighted to inform the Leader of the Opposition of the 27 – 27 – priority primary care centres that we are establishing across the state. I remind the Leader of the Opposition that we are doing this and are having to take this unprecedented step because of years and years of neglect and inaction by the previous federal Liberal government, when we did not hear boo to a goose from these people opposite. We did not hear anything from these people opposite in raising their voice.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, it is entirely inappropriate for the Premier to be attacking other members of the chamber, and I ask you to bring her back from doing so.

The SPEAKER: Order! I ask the Premier to come back to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I was saying, we have had to take this step because we saw that there was this inaction to address GP access, which is the primary responsibility of the federal government. Because of the situation we got to the point – and we particularly saw this through the period of the pandemic – where Victorians did not have access to bulk-billing GPs because of the failure of the previous federal Liberal government. That is why the health minister has been working incredibly hard with the primary care community to step in – in quite unprecedented terms – and establish 27 priority primary care centres across the state.

The question went to GP and bulk-billing services in the Mulgrave community. Well, of the 27 priority primary care centres there is one in Glen Waverley, which would support some in one part of the community of Mulgrave. There is also another priority primary care centre at Monash Children’s Hospital, again servicing the Mulgrave community. They are just two of the 27 priority primary care centres that we have stepped in and established around Victoria to support Victorians to get access to a bulk-billing GP service because of the failure of the previous federal Liberal–National government to ensure that there was access to GPs for the Victorian community.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): The managing director of SIA Medical Centre has said that ‘As a result of the health tax, the cost to see a GP could increase by $20 a visit’. Why is the government targeting Victorians needing to see a doctor to cover the cost of its budget blowouts?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:15): The Leader of the Opposition is wrong. We are targeting Victorians with 27 priority primary care centres that are about increasing and improving access to bulk-billing doctors in an unprecedented move, where we are stepping in in an area that has been a federal government responsibility. We have in Canberra, in the Albanese Labor government, a government that is working very hard with the priority primary care sector to ensure that there is more support for GPs to provide bulk-billing services. But in the interim we have stepped in, establishing 27 centres across the state, which is making sure that Victorians have more access to bulk-billing services.