Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I will withdraw. But I can almost guarantee that this member who just raised an objection will blame the government for this bill yet it was their measure put into place with their last Labor budget. I know Australians are already finding the current budget situation very tight but we did not push this bill forward. We would not be in this position if Labor had not gone on a reckless spending spree before realising that it would all have to be paid back with money eventually. Now everyone, every Australian, has to share the load. We need to work hard to pay the bill that Labor has left us. It is the only way we will be able to get back into the black. It is unfortunate that Labor decided to select the most disadvantaged group of all of them.

The basics of this bill include the fact that there are two Extended Medicare Safety Net thresholds: the threshold for Commonwealth concession card holders and the general threshold for all other Australians. From 1 January 2006 the concessional threshold increased to $500 and the general threshold increased to $1,000. The thresholds are indexed to the consumer price index at the start of each calendar year. In 2014 the concessional threshold was $624.10 and the general threshold was $1,248.70. As announced by the previous Labor government in the 2013-14 budget, the general threshold of the Extended Medicare Safety Net will be increased to $2,000 from 1 January 2015. The concessional Extended Medicare Safety net threshold will be indexed as usual and not be impacted by this bill.

This bill is believed to contribute to a more sustainable Medicare system. This was the Labor plan. So, again, for the member for Shortland—whom we did not hear a peep out of after the last budget—to come in here and make such statements is moronic hypocrisy, and she should pack her bags and go home. Under the Medicare system, once the relevant annual threshold has been met, Medicare will pay for 80 per cent of any future out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-eligible out-of-hospital services for the remainder of the calendar year. The Extended Medicare Safety Net will then provide my constituents and their families with an additional rebate for their out-of-hospital Medicare services once an annual threshold of out-of-pocket costs for out-of-hospital services is reached. These out-of-hospital services include GP and specialist attendances and services provided in private clinics and private emergency departments.

These measures will impact on the lives of constituents in my electorate who desperately need assistance and medical services—people like Suzanne Robertson. Suzanne is a constituent who lives in Forster, on the north coast of New South Wales, who contacted me for assistance on in-home day care following issues accessing help from other avenues. Suzanne is the mother of two little boys, Alec and Oliver, who are struggling with a condition known as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Right from the beginning of their lives they struggled to reach any of their developmental milestones. Both boys required intensive physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy just to get them to the stage that they are at today.

Oliver has been diagnosed with auditory neuropathy, global learning delays, congenital hypothyroidism, sensory modulation dysfunction, macrocephaly, mild cerebral palsy, a mild intellectual disability, possible mild autism and hypotonia and is profoundly deaf and has pronating flat feet. Oliver had his first cochlear implant in March 2011 and is on consideration for his second cochlear implant. But, due to his auditory neuropathy, this may not happen. On a weekly basis alone, the schedule consists of sessions with a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, teacher of the deaf, Auslan tutor and support teacher and cochlear implant habilitation and mapping—the list goes on and on. His brother, Alec, was diagnosed with global learning delays, sensory disorder, hypotonia, insecure attachment disorder and pronating flat feet. He has weekly therapy sessions with a physiotherapist, a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. Up until recently Suzanne had a carer who was able to assist her with the boys and the therapy sessions, even helping the boys with socialisation. But, over the years of Labor power, more and more was taken away from this family, including their carer. I had to go begging to the minister each and every time to get the carers replaced and the contracts continued for this family.

Having the carer around helped Suzanne, as she knew there was someone there to help her who was almost a part of the family. It was a huge relief to her with the heavy load that she carried. Her load became increased when the carer was taken away. Because of the lack of funding, these therapies can cost Suzanne up to $251 a week, without factoring in the cost of regular travel to Newcastle and Sydney and Oliver's specialised equipment needs. Suzanne says that she spends at least three days a week in her car travelling to specialist appointments in Newcastle or Sydney as the specialists either do not exist in the Forster area or charge outrageous prices. Factor in a car breakdown and the mounting medical bills and you can see that the system has left Suzanne in a very dire position. Suzanne's kids are sick and need more assistance and management than standard hospital care can provide. They need ongoing support for out-of-hospital costs so that they can continue to improve their quality of life whilst dealing with their illnesses.

Another part of the amended bill is the increase in the levy. This increase is not new, nor was it introduced by this government. The increase was announced by the previous government in the 2013-14 budget, when it was announced that the general threshold of the extended Medicare safety net would be increased to $2,000 from 1 January 2015—more costs for an already overburdened family.

Another family that will not benefit from the change in the increased levy and out-of-hospital services is the Weir family. Earlier this year I met this amazing family when invited by my constituent and their grandfather, Chris Walker, to join him and his grandsons, Jordan and Logan Weir, at the Rare Disease Day 2014 BBQ lunch. The brothers were born with the rare disease, X-Linked Chronic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction, which affects the gastro intestinal tract and its ability to absorb or propel food and nutrients. As a result, Jordan and Logan cannot eat or drink and are machine fed an intravenous solution, Total Parental Nutrition, 18 hours a day.

They require considerable care at home, including care and drainage of the intestinal tubes, central line care, parenteral nutrition administration, frequent hospitalisation for care and complications of the central line as well as medical and nutritional monitoring. The risk of life-threatening central line infections for these young boys is extremely high. Jordan and Logan need a safe area in which to play during the time they are connected to these machines. It is a full-time job for the family to look after these boys in a hospital environment within their own house. The whole family—parents Brooke and Michael, grandparents Chris and Tanya and Brooke's sister, Katie—is involved.

I supported this family earlier this year as they, in coordination with a local gym, held a charity fun run to raise funds. People in the community came on board and provided assistance to help adjust their backyard so that the boys had a safe environment in which to play. But more needs to be done. These boys do not have a cure so we can only assist with helping them with out of hospital service costs. This family was abandoned by the Labor government. They had to take control of their financial state and organise charity events just to support these children. If only the Labor government had taken control of their own financial ineptitude and organised a solution.

I have received many emails on this issue from many constituents with differing situations. These range from premature babies with illnesses from the birth to the elderly who are dealing with chronic diseases that have plagued them their entire life. Remember: this is the Labor government that took away the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme, which provided much-needed support, particularly in regional areas where people could access services locally.

I acknowledge that many people feel that the budget is going to be tough on Australian families, the sick and the disabled—indeed, on every Australian. But the untruths being peddled by Labor, the ones who got us into this massive black hole of debt—are beyond the pale of reality. They continue on with their mantra chant about pensions being cut. Pensions are not being cut, concessions are not being taken away and health care will not be killed off. This is a Labor government who will do one thing, say another and then blame someone else for the situation they got this country and this system into. As I say, I tire of the hypocrisy coming from the bench opposite for the problems that they have created and the solutions that they put forward. They take no care nor responsibility for their actions. They are to be condemned for their actions.

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