TRANSCRIPT
SKY NEWS WITH KIERAN GILBERT
1 August 2025
Topics: Anthony Albanese’s Medicare lies, Labor’s failures on bulk billing, home care wait list, first sitting period of the 48th Parliament, Coalition energy policy
E&OE…………………………………
Kieran Gilbert: Let's return now to discussion about the health system, and in fact, Medicare more broadly. The report out today suggests that Australians have been paying millions of dollars in gap fees when they go to see a GP. We know the Government's committed $8.5 billion to increase the number of bulk-billed visits with GPs to 90% by 2030. The Opposition says it's not good enough as it stands at the moment. I spoke to the Shadow Health Minister, Anne Ruston.
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston, thanks for your time. This bulk billing number that you're seeing today, doesn't that explain why the Government is going to inject more than $8 billion into the system come November?
Anne Ruston: Well look, we've always said that we support Australians getting timely and affordable access to primary care and so we absolutely support Australians being able to get access to bulk billing. What we are really, really disappointed in this government over is the fact that Anthony Albanese, during the election campaign, ran around waving his Medicare card saying to Australians, this is all you will need to see a doctor. He's known that that's not the case, because his own department told him that probably 25% at least of GP clinics would not bulk bill despite the injection of funding, and he's telling Australians they're going to get their doctor's visits for free. I mean, most Australians I would think, after the election campaign, would think they can walk into their doctor surgery today and they won't be charged.
Kieran Gilbert: But what they did promise was that nine out of 10 clinics will be bulk billing by 2030. That's what the promise was.
Anne Ruston: Well, I would suggest to you, the Prime Minister holding up his Medicare card and saying, "this is all you need to see your doctor, visiting your doctor will be free," is not saying that in five years' time, nine out of ten visits will be free. I think what he's saying to Australians is you don't have to pay today, and that is absolutely a flat out lie. We know Australians are paying more out of pocket costs now than they ever have before.
Kieran Gilbert: The Government says it's the Coalition's fault, that they're trying to fix the cuts that you delivered to Medicare.
Anne Ruston: Well, the Government seems to think that it's standard response to just about everything that it does wrong is it's the Coalition's fault. If you have a look at the last three years, by absolutely every measure this government has failed Australians on healthcare, whether it's the 11% plummet in bulk billing rates, the 1.5 million Australians who didn't see a GP because they said they couldn't afford to do so, the fact that there were 40 million less bulk billed visits last year alone, people are now turning up in emergency departments, people are not filling their scripts because they say they can't afford to do so. This has all happened on the Labor Party's watch.
Kieran Gilbert: They've also built 90 Urgent Care Clinics, and you can get care there with your Medicare card.
Anne Ruston: Well, we absolutely support Australians getting access to affordable care and that includes getting access to bulk billed services. What we are calling the Government out for is you can't tell Australians that their primary care is free, visiting a GP is free, when they themselves know that it's not.
Kieran Gilbert: You, this week, supported on another front - They're called home care packages, for those aged care recipients. There are I think 80,000 plus people on a waiting list.
Anne Ruston: 87.
Kieran Gilbert: 87,000 - and you've supported a Senate inquiry into why there's a delay with the next round of home care packages. What's gone on there?
Anne Ruston: Well, the Government went to the election - This is another election promise that we absolutely supported, the release of these 83,000 packages the Government promised in the election to be released on the 1st of July, so they should already be in the market to try and alleviate some of that really, really huge waiting list that has built up under this government's watch.
Kieran Gilbert: But these home care packages were delayed to November.
Anne Ruston: So the Government has, for whatever reason, decided that those 87,000 people who were going to be the beneficiary of those 83,000 packages have now got to wait another four months. This is older Australians who have been assessed as needing a level of care, who aren't receiving it because the Government has chosen just not to release them.
Kieran Gilbert: But does it need a Senate inquiry into it?
Anne Ruston: Well, we need to understand why.
Kieran Gilbert: A four month delay?
Anne Ruston: We need to understand why. Four months is a very long time when you've been assessed as needing care and you are receiving none. So we think that the Government needs to be held to account. You can't make election promises and then two days after the election just completely and utterly walk away from them.
Kieran Gilbert: Does this show to you that the Government doesn't get it and won't get it all its own way in this parliament, despite 94 seats in the Lower House?
Anne Ruston: Well, we were really delighted that not only did the Greens, but David Pocock has been another Senator who's been very, very keen to prosecute this issue. The Government can't just take this parliament for granted, as it does in the Lower House, and treat it with contempt as it does in the Lower House, because they still need to get the support of the Greens in order for them to be able to get things through the Senate. And this is a classic example of, you can't just bully your way through and withdraw a promise so critical to those 87,000 Australians and expect nobody to do anything.
Kieran Gilbert: How do you think your leader, Sussan Ley, has managed the first couple of weeks of parliament and the 48th Parliament? She's had a few, let's say, unhelpful distractions from Coalition colleagues, particularly in the Nationals, but some of your own colleagues driving a change in policy before you've done the process when it comes to energy and net zero.
Anne Ruston: Well, I think Sussan's actually had a really good start. I think she's shown herself to be a very strong leader. She's very capable. And the one thing that you can always be guaranteed with Sussan, if she makes a promise, she will keep that promise. And she made a promise to our party room that she would allow a process to go through in terms of policy development. And whilst, obviously, we're not the party that tells our backbench that they have to behave themselves and they can't speak their mind, but Sussan will deliver on her promise to make sure everybody has their say on all of our policies. And I'd be... [Interrupted].
Kieran Gilbert: And do you think, as a moderate, do you think - I'm right to say that, are you a moderate in the Liberal Party in South Australia?
Anne Ruston: I'm a Liberal and I don't put myself in any camp.
Kieran Gilbert: I thought you were, but anyway, do you think you can bring both sides together on energy and net zero?
Anne Ruston: Well look, I think we have to make sure that Australians have got affordable and reliable power and I think every single person that sits in our party room, no matter where they sit on the spectrum of views around things, knows that that is the most important thing that we do.
Kieran Gilbert: You can agree on that?
Anne Ruston: Absolutely we agree on that, and I think we also agree that we have to play our part in reducing global emissions, but we need to make sure that - You know, we can walk and chew gum at the same time and I think we'll prove that to you over the coming months.
Kieran Gilbert: Anne Ruston, great to see you. Thanks.
Anne Ruston: My pleasure.
ENDS
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