National Commission of Audit

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Health. What will be the impact on South Australian hospitals of a $15 GP tax, as recommended by Tony Abbott's Commission of Audit?

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Health might answer that bearing in mind that he has already given us the benefit of his wisdom on much of this in response to a supplementary from the member for Davenport.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Health Industries) (14:40): But sir, there is so much more information to provide to the house, and I thank the member for Elder for her question. She is obviously very concerned about what impact this tax might have.

Let me make one thing clear to the house: this is a reprehensible proposal. The Abbott government's ever-increasing GP tax will put unprecedented pressure on our emergency departments. Tony Abbott's government spent most of 2014 softening Australians up that they will have to pay $6 every time they visit a GP; now the Commission of Audit has said it should be $15. For the majority of people who aren't bulk-billed, that is on top of the existing gap payment.

So—let's be under no illusions—this is what will happen: we will see an influx of people avoiding their doctor because of the GP tax and instead heading straight to their local emergency department. On average, South Australians spend around 20 minutes waiting to be seen in an emergency department. Our very own conservative internal modelling has shown that even if just over 6 per cent of South Australians boycotted the $15 GP tax, that wait could grow to at least 98 minutes, and that is just an average. The wait would be far greater in our peak periods.

This is the situation we are faced with: we can expect to see an extra 610,000 patients every year in the non-emergency triage categories of 3, 4 and 5 if this $15 tax goes ahead. The biggest problem with this is that the predicted increase in primary care-type patients coming to an emergency department for treatment is likely to compromise the ability to treat more acute patients in an emergency. Worse still, patients in need may choose to delay access to treatment for their illness.

I have asked the federal health minister in person before and I ask him and Tony Abbott again to immediately rule out a GP tax. If this reprehensible proposal proceeds, South Australian families will be paying more for their health care but receiving far less as a result of Tony Abbott's budget of broken promises. What's more, given we saw the charge more than double overnight, from $6 to $15, we should all have grave fears for what it might be in coming years.

The government believes that all South Australian families have a fundamental right to the world's best health care; it is clear that the opposition's colleagues in Canberra believe the exact opposite. By their inaction, members opposite are complicit in the death of Medicare as we know it. It is past time—

Members interjecting:

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Health will be seated.

Ms CHAPMAN: Mr Speaker, you may not have heard, but the minister just accused the opposition of being complicit in the deaths of South Australians. That is a disgraceful allegation and I ask him to withdraw it immediately.

The SPEAKER: Under standing orders—indeed under the general law—you can defame groups of people; it is only individuals you can't defame. I would ask the Minister for Health to bridle his tongue, and in fact I think we have probably heard enough of the Minister for Health.