Catherine King

Catherine King

CATHERINE KING MP
Federal Member Ballarat
Shadow Minister Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development

T (03) 5338 8123
Email: Catherine.King.MP@aph.gov.au

Catherine King MP
Electorate Office
5 Lydiard Street North
Ballarat, VIC 3350

Bacchus Marsh
(every Friday from 10am to 3pm)
Lerderderg Library
Geoffrey Hine Room
215 Main Street
Bacchus Marsh, VIC 3340

Open in Google Maps
  • ABOUT
  • BALLARAT
  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA
  • POLICY
  • CONTACT US
Friday, 06 February 2015 / Published in MEDIA

HEALTH DEPARTMENT ADMITS GP TAX NOT BACKED BY EVIDENCE

The Department of Health has admitted the Abbott Government’s GP Tax is not backed by any substantive research.
 
The damning admission came from senior Department officials at the Senate Select Committee on Health in Canberra
 
“I’m unaware of any substantive work in Australia specifically about the impact of something like [the] Medicare co-payment and reduction in rebate,” the department’s acting deputy secretary told the inquiry.
 
The admission confirmed evidence earlier from the Australian Medical Association and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners that they had not been consulted about either version of the GP Tax, and only found out about the second version 20 minutes before it was announced.
 
Those same witnesses earlier confirmed that had any proper research been done on the GP Tax, it should never have been introduced.
 
That research would expose the complete dishonesty of the government’s arguments for the GP Tax with growth in health spending at its lowest level since the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare began compiling records 30 years ago.
 
It would also show Australia’s spending on health care is lower than many developed nations, yet, at the same time Australians are spending more in out of pocket costs than the OECD average with much worse to come under the Abbott Government’s GP Tax and PBS price hikes.
 
The admissions by the Department confirms the GP Tax is nothing more than an ideologically-based attack on Medicare from a party determined to destroy Australia’s much-loved universal health care system.
 
It confirms only Labor believes Australians should get the health care they need, not just what they can afford.
 
The Liberals might change their leader, but they won’t change their determination to destroy Medicare.
 
Only Labor will protect ordinary Australian families from the Liberals’ attempt to wreck Medicare and push up health costs for people already under financial pressure.

Tagged under: 2015

What you can read next

TURNBULL TAKES AXE TO BALLARAT SCHOOLS
AUSTRALIANS WANT ACTION TO TACKLE EBOLA CRISIS
NEW STAR RATINGS FOR FOOD

FILTER BY TYPE:

  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA

FILTER BY YEAR:

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

© Catherine King. Authorised by Catherine King, Australian Labor Party, Canberra

Noise Birds

TOP