House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time General Practitioner Payroll Tax General Practitioner Payroll Tax The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS House of Assembly Black Leader of the Opposition General Practitioner Payroll Tax The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): My question is to the Premier. How does the Premier respond to comments from the South Australian Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Sian Goodson? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain. Leave granted. The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS House of Assembly Black Leader of the Opposition The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: In a press release yesterday entitled, 'Stop The Patient Tax Grab', Dr Goodson was quoted as saying: More and more patients will miss a GP consult and turn up to already under-pressure hospital emergency departments with conditions that could and should have been managed by their usual GP. The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:20): I think there are an important couple of elements that I would say in regard to this subject. The first is this: the state government, particularly through the Treasurer and also the health minister, has been very keen to work collaboratively with representatives of GPs throughout the state, and that collaboration and effort has resulted in a reform that is the envy of GPs in other jurisdictions around the country, particularly around the amnesty arrangement that has been in place and is very, very different to what we see happening in other states, such as Victoria, where no such arrangement is available. That was a package that was negotiated directly after engaging with GPs and their representatives, and we thank them for their advocacy in that regard to instruct that effort. They have subsequently now in some instances made clear they are wanting for more than that, and that's perfectly legitimate for them to advocate for. In that context, we will continue to engage in every way we can. In respect to GP services more broadly, there is absolutely no doubt that we have a shortage of GPs in Australia at the moment. There are a range of reasons for that, but general medicine is very, very important in healthcare provision. Of course, the provision of GP services is within the remit of the commonwealth largely, because it is the commonwealth that is responsible for primary healthcare in our division of responsibilities between state and federal governments. It's interesting—on this side of the house we are committed to any measure that will make a positive difference to bulk billing rates and what we have seen is a really big change in policy. Let's be clear about something: there has been no change to any rules, any legislation, any regulations in regard to GPs in South Australia—— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.C. Mullighan House of Assembly Lee Treasurer Minister for Defence and Space Industries The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: That's right, no change. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: There has been no change. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Hartley and the Treasurer will come to order. The Premier has the call. The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: There has been absolutely no change by the state government, but there has been a change at the federal level. This is important, because at the federal level what we saw during the life of the federal Conservative government was a freezing of the rebates paid to GPs. It turns out, if the federal Liberal Party takes a flamethrower to the revenue base of GPs in this country, guess what happens? We start to see a decline in general practice. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Now, what won't be surprising to anyone bearing witness to today's question time is that the same party— The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta! The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —that cut the Ambulance Service in South Australia turns out to be the same party that at a federal level was cutting GP services across the nation. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: And now they complain about it. And the opposite is true— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is called to order. The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: We are the party reinstating funding to the public hospital system— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta! The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —and we are the party seeking to provide support to GPs— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley! The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —across the country in regard to general practice. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!