Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister, before the election, made it very clear—he promised—that there would be no cuts to health. Yet in the very first budget this government brought to this parliament we saw $50 billion cut from the health budget—out of our public hospitals, away from all the front-line services. These guys—those opposite—pretend there is no impact on front-line services. You will hear them again today talk about that. It is a complete falsehood, of course. This is just another example of the Prime Minister's wrong priorities that leave shortfalls for the states to pick up that we know they are never going to meet. Those states are never going to pick up that additional cost, and that is just the start.

Across the board the Abbott Liberal government's budget takes the scalpel to health funding and healthcare programs. The introduction of the $7 GP tax hits everyone; we know that. It is going to hit pensioners, parents, the unemployed, low-income earners, people with a disability and even veterans. The tax will cost the people in my electorate of Newcastle more than $5 million a year in extra health costs.

They are hitting the Australian public again with a $1.3 billion increase into the cost of pharmaceuticals. And they are slashing all the preventive healthcare programs, like the Deadly Choices program run by the Awabakal Aboriginal medical service in my electorate of Newcastle.

See this speech in context