Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Payroll tax

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): My question is to the Premier. New data from HotDoc reveals that hundreds of Victorian GPs plan to increase out-of-pocket fees by 30 per cent to counter the government’s unfair health tax. Labor cannot manage money and cannot manage our health system. At a time when Victorians are struggling with the cost of living, why is Labor making it more expensive to visit a GP?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I do not want to have to ask for the question to be repeated. I ask members to come to order.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:07): I –

John Pesutto interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition!

Jacinta ALLAN: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, the first of the parliamentary term. It is great to see you back; it is so good to see you back.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Through the Chair, Premier.

Jacinta ALLAN: The Leader of the Opposition raised support for the GP sector, and I want to make this point absolutely clear. I know that this is a point that has been made on a number of occasions before, but I will make it again for the benefit of the Leader of the Opposition: payroll tax, when we are referring to GPs, is being assessed the same as all professions. Let us be clear about that. What we also are clear about is that our GP primary care sector is under pressure. It is under pressure because of a decade of neglect from the federal Liberal–National parties. We have all seen this decade of neglect writ large through the series Nemesis over the last couple of weeks. Whilst those opposite were chief cheerleaders for that rabble in Canberra –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Assistant Treasurer will come to order. The Leader of the House will come to order.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is an important question about an estimated 30 per cent increase in costs on people visiting a doctor. This is an important question, and I would ask you to bring the Premier back to that important question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has strayed a little from the answer, and I would ask her to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: Thank you, Speaker. It is an important question, and if the Manager of Opposition Business believes it is an important question, he would do well then to show the house respect and listen to the answer. It is a fact that the decade of neglect from the former Liberal–National government has put untold pressure on our GPs around the state. You ask any family, any mum when their kid comes off their bike and needs to go and see the GP, any parent – any person across the state knows how hard it is to get into a GP. Now, what we have done –

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the Premier says that this new tax was prompted by 10 years but then says nothing has changed. Do you want to get your story straight? Make no mistake: out-of-pocket fees –

The SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: You have had all summer to practise your points of order. I thought you might have got that right. You have been a bit busy.

We have taken practical action to step in in an unprecedented way to support Victorians to have access to those GP services. There are 29 priority primary care centres that have been established around the state, and they are providing support to tens of thousands of Victorians to get access to the GP system that is under pressure, as I have acknowledged. It is under pressure, and the work we are doing is with priority primary care centres and the pharmacy pilot, and I am very pleased to advise the house that under the pharmacy pilot, which has only been going a few months since early November, we now have 686 pharmacies participating across the state. They have already provided treatment for 1660 urinary tract infections. They have provided treatment with 1084 scripts for oral contraceptives. This is taking pressure off our GPs. This is the practical support we are providing, as opposed to those who are chief cheerleaders for their mob in Canberra.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:11): The federal Labor health minister has said that he does not want investment in GPs to ‘end up in state Treasury through changes to payroll tax’ as this will make it more expensive for Victorians to see a GP. Will the Premier follow the advice of the federal Labor minister and the lead of the other states and abolish this unfair health tax?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:12): When it comes to working with the federal Labor government and the federal health minister, can I point to so many examples where the federal Labor government have turned to Victoria and are working with the Victorian health minister on rolling out initiatives like the urgent care centres that are modelled on our priority primary care centres ‍– that are modelled on our approach here in Victoria. We are taking practical action to step in where the previous federal Liberal–National government have failed to do their job. We have a government in Canberra that is stepping up to do that job –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question was about the federal Labor minister calling on the state Labor government to scrap their tax. I call on the Premier to answer that question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: Because that is what happens when state and federal governments work together with a singular focus on how we can improve a health system. Following a decade of neglect and also coming out of the one-in-100-year pandemic, we are seeing a health system that is under pressure. That is why we have a range of initiatives and why we will work with the federal government on these matters.

John Pesutto interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! I ask the Leader of the Opposition to cease interjecting across the table.