No amount of fiddling can fix Tony Abbott’s rotten GP Tax and it should be axed today, following more reports the Government is considering amending the unfair tax.
The GP Tax is unfair, regressive and bad health policy. Taxing sick Australians will only prevent them seeing a doctor, leading to more serious and expensive health problems.
There is indisputable evidence of this with reports from healthcare and medical groups that patients are being deterred from seeing GPs and getting pathology tests because of fears they would be hit by the GP Tax.
That is why Labor will not stand by and allow this government to destroy Medicare. The GP Tax is a direct attack on the fundamental principle of Medicare that the best quality healthcare is available to every Australian.
Any compromise on the GP Tax will be nothing more than a cynical political fix by a desperate government. Facing a backbench revolt Tony Abbott has finally woken up to how rotten his GP Tax truly is. This is what Labor and the overwhelming majority of health experts and professionals have been telling him since day one.
Simply amending the GP Tax is not enough. Families, low income earners, people with chronic disease and all those Australians who rely on bulk billing must also be spared this deeply unfair, regressive and outrageous attack on decent, affordable health care.
If it’s unfair for some Minister Dutton, it’s unfair for everyone. Instead of tinkering with the GP Tax, it must be axed now, for everyone, to ensure Medicare is for all Australians.