Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Would the minister advise the House of new listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that will assist Australians suffering from skin cancer, diabetes and hepatitis B?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston for his question. I can inform him and the House that, last Friday, seven new drugs were listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and 15 drugs had their availability extended. These new listings will help nearly half a million Australians with diseases such as skin cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and hepatitis B, at a cost of nearly $100 million over the forward estimates period. This latest investment in Australians’ health comes on top of new PBS listings since August costing more than $1 billion, including Herceptin, for early-stage breast cancer. It comes on top of last week’s placing of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, on the National Immunisation Program at a cost of some $436 million.

The government can only afford to place these new drugs on the PBS and the National Immunisation Program because of the rigorous cost-effectiveness tests applied by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. The PBAC is what stands between taxpayers and pharmaceutical companies’ ambit claims. I note the member for Lalor’s shrill demand three weeks ago that the government rip up the recommendations of the PBAC. I note that it would have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars had that demand been acceded to. I simply say that I hope that the next shadow minister for health turns out to be a lot more economically responsible than the next shadow Treasurer is going to turn out to be.