Payroll tax
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (13:25): I am imploring the government to not impose their health tax. Labor’s health tax is a tax on patients. Labor’s health tax will end bulk-billing. Under Labor’s health tax it will cost patients $100 to visit a GP. Labor’s health tax is going to force hundreds of thousands if not millions of Victorians into our already busy emergency departments, and Labor’s health tax will close medical clinics. HotDoc, who engage with GPs around the country and here in particular in Victoria, have said that when they surveyed their doctors here in Victoria it was revealed that 95 per cent of clinics plan to increase fees in response to the government’s health tax, and the survey of more than 300 clinics found that another 16.5 per cent would be forced to close. So it is not me saying this, it is GPs, it is other stakeholders like the AMA and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and it is these patient engagement providers such as HotDoc who understand the impacts of Labor’s health tax. It is a bad, unfair and insidious tax, and it needs to stop. The Treasurer, the Minister for Health and the Premier need to listen to these stakeholders and not impose this health tax, which will cost Victorians, end bulk-billing and force up costs for Victorian patients.