Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

The Medicare levy? 'The Medicare levy' comes from the former Speaker in this place. It was not even good enough to be put up by her good friend Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister. Let me correct that: the former Speaker, the member for Chisholm, says that somehow the Medicare levy should cover what we spend on Medicare. Let me give her a basic lesson in economics: we raise with the Medicare levy about half of that we spend on Medicare each year. The problem is—the basic economic facts escape Labor—that the growth rate of Medicare is much greater than that which we collect on the Medicare levy, so over time Medicare becomes even more unsustainable. The basics need to be understood by the Labor Party opposite before they can make a proper contribution to this debate. Gough Whitlam got it right when he said that health care needed to be 'at reasonable cost'. He did not propose that 80 per cent of services, when you go to the doctor, should be for free.

So what have we said in relation to this budget?

Much the same as what Bob Hawke said: 'It's very difficult to suggest a co-payment … is going to create great hardship.' What did Bob Hawke suggest? Bob Hawke suggested and implemented a co-payment of $3.50 which incidentally, had it been indexed—

Ms Butler interjecting—

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