Mr HUNT (Flinders—Minister for Health and Minister for Sport) (15:21): Let me make it absolutely clear for the record, for the public and for the medical profession: Labor introduced the Medicare freeze. They can run, they can hide, they can obfuscate and pretend, but they introduced the Medicare freeze. If there was any doubt, let me go to their own document—the 2013-14 budget. What does that budget say about the impact of their changes on Medicare funding? $664 million, but it is not a one-off hit. This was phased over four years, including this year—right now they would be saving $177 million—they would be cutting $177 million. So in 2013-14, $160 million from their freeze; 2014-15 an additional $153 million; 2015-16 an additional $173 million; and 2016-17 an additional $177 million. This year, this moment, this day the Labor freeze is still in place—this year it is still in place. Hypocrisy, obfuscation, a fantasy and a level of dishonourable dishonesty which belies the very reason people have entered this chamber. They are the authors, the owners and the creators of the Medicare freeze. As their own budget document sets out, it is still in action. Ms Catherine King: You can't read. Mr HUNT: Oh, I can read it and so can the Australian public. That is the critical thing but let me go a little bit further than that. I have to say I have had a tremendous response in my dealings with the RACGP, with the AMA, with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine; the heads have been tremendous to deal with—people such as the RACGP's Dr Bastian Seidel and the head of the AMA Dr Michael Gannon. They are working very constructively with us on the long-term national health plan—on the elements we are working with them on. There is no freeze in their dealings with us. I have got to say that the poor opposition shadow has yet to rise on her feet to address a single question to the current minister in nearly three months—not one question. Why would that be? She has been left in the freeze on her watch, on her time. It is not exactly a grand statement of great achievement. Ms Claydon interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Coulton ): The member for Newcastle is out of place and out of order. Mr HUNT: The shadow minister quoted the fact that I make the point that Medicare funding goes up each year, every year, from $22 billion to $23 billion to $24 billion to $25 billion. Their argument has been that that we are cutting Medicare; we are not. It is false; it is untrue; it is incorrect. Then they get all upset about the fact that Medicare funding is actually going up. They also get upset about the fact that bulk-billing is actually going up. We were asked about the trajectory— Mr Champion interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Wakefield. Mr HUNT: What was bulk-billing for GPs under Labor? Under Labor it was 82.2 per cent. What was the last set of bulk-billing figures for us in the last half year?—85.4 per cent. The trajectory for bulk-billing, which is a measure over time of a trend, is up 3.2 per cent. In other words, bulk-billing has increased dramatically under us compared to what it was. So funding is up, and we also see that bulk-billing figures are up. If you put those two together, you have the strongest and most rock-solid support for Medicare that there has ever been. Let me repeat: they introduced the freeze and we are the ones who are dealing with it now in our discussions with the AMA, with the RACGP and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. Let me deal now with Labor's record and what we are doing in health. Labor's record is very clear: Labor hates private health insurance. Let me repeat that: Labor hates private health insurance and wants to decimate it. How do we know this? Here is what the former health minister, the then member for Gellibrand, said going into the election: 'Labor made it crystal clear that we are committed to retaining all of the existing private health insurance rebates.' Here is what the member for Sydney—who introduced the freeze, by the way—said after they left government: 'How did I pay for it? I paid for it by targeting private health insurance.' Targeting private health insurance! It is the language of somebody who hates private health insurance and who resents that system. Opposition members interjecting— Mr HUNT: It was not my language—targeting private health insurance. What we have also heard from the member for Ballarat on health funding is: 'The opposition would be kidding itself'—and this was when she was in opposition—'if it did not recognise there were challenges in the budget and that savings need to be found. There is no area that is going to be exempt.'— Mr Champion interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Wakefield. Mr HUNT: That is what she said just before the election when they were pitching to come into government. What did they do? They cut $4½ billion from private health insurance; they cut $2½ billion from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; they cut $1 billion from dental care by cutting chronic disease dental care—by axing a scheme for chronic disease dental care. Why? Because it was too successful. What a commitment to dental care! They cut $664 million from the Medicare Benefits Schedule for GPs; they cut $500 million from pathology; they cut $450 million from the Medicare Safety Net. And then we have the grand daddy of all of their deceptions: they used to talk a lot about $57 billion in hospitals. Well, they had their chance. This shadow minister took a policy to the election—they had been talking about $57 billion—and they put in $2 billion. That is a four per cent success rate; 96 per cent fail rate. In anybody's language, that constitutes a fail unless, of course, you are Senator Kitching filling in a Health Services Union workplace safety test for a few friends. So they had a four per cent— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The minister will resume his seat. Ms Catherine King: I am very reluctant to call a point of order during an MPI. I understand it is a robust debate but reflection on another member, even if they are in the other place, is simply not appropriate. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I asked the minister to withdraw that comment. Mr HUNT: I actually see no basis for that, but, out of courtesy to the Deputy Speaker, I will do that. But the royal commission actually used language referring specifically to filling in for a few friends. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister for Health will withdraw unreservedly, please. Mr HUNT: I am happy to withdraw. Mr Champion interjecting— Mr HUNT: Let us compare Labor's $55 billion shortfall—Labor's 96 per cent failure on what it had been talking about, promising, pledging and committing to the Australian people—with what we have done. Ms Catherine King interjecting— Mr HUNT: Since coming in, we have added $125 million to what we are doing for medical research, dealing with things such as providing $39 million for cancer research, $30 million for dementia, $11 million for Indigenous health— Mr Crewther: Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I refer to standing order 65(b). The shadow minister for health and other members opposite have continued to interrupt the minister over a number of minutes, and I ask the Deputy Speaker to draw attention to that. Mr Champion interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Wakefield is still under a warning from question time. He is on very thin ice. I will explain now: the reason I am doing this is that the minister interjected when the shadow minister was speaking. I will make a statement after the minister finishes. Mr HUNT: We have added $125 million to our work in relation to medical research. On the weekend we announced that the price of 1,100 drugs for Australian families are coming down. Prices for 1,100 drugs are coming down. There are eight new listings, including for areas such as Hodgkin's lymphoma and skin cancer. Opposition members interjecting— Mr HUNT: What we are doing is listing new drugs, reducing the price of drugs and adding to medical research. The opposition slashed Medicare, introduced the freeze and failed on their own hospitals test. That is a recipe for disaster on their side. These people, in the end, are— (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That did get out of hand. The Minister for Health was interjecting. The shadow minister was interjecting. That was a most unedifying performance for this House. That is the last time in this MPI that I will tolerate that behaviour. The member for Wakefield was warned in question time, and that is still current.