TONY ABBOTT'S DOUBLE HIT ON THE SICK IN HUNTER

27 August 2014

Families in the Hunter electorate will be among the hardest hit by Tony Abbotts double hit on the sick Australians, Mr Fitzgibbon said today.

The combination of Tony Abbotts new GP tax and his medicines price hike mean sick Australians will pay more, said Mr Fitzgibbon.

The sick and vulnerable will pay for Tony Abbotts broken promises on health and thats not right.

Health Department figures obtained by Labor have revealed the GP Tax and medicine price hikes will cost sick Australians in Hunter just over $30 million more over the next four years.

Tony Abbott promised the Australian people no cuts to health before the election. He also promised families in Hunter that he was about getting rid of taxes, not imposing new taxes.

Tony Abbott broke that promise when he cut more than $50 billion from hospitals and hit sick Australians with a $7 GP Tax.

Tony Abbott also wants to force sick Australians to pay an extra $1.2 billion for medicines over the next four years. For patients in the Hunter electorate, it will mean paying 15 per cent more for prescription medicines.

The combination of the new GP tax and the medicines price hike will cost every single person in Hunter an average of $ 221. A cruel and heartless hit on those that can least afford it, the sick and the vulnerable.

The Abbott Governments GP Tax will also put more pressure on Australias hospital system and lead to much worse health outcomes.

The GP Tax and hospital cuts will increase emergency department waiting times and reduce the number of hospital beds across the electorate.

This just highlights Tony Abbotts deceit when he promised no cuts to health and no new taxes at the 2013 election, Shadow Health Minister Catherine King said today.

The attack on Medicare is yet another example of the Prime Ministers twisted budget priorities.

Families who are already struggling to make ends meet cannot afford to pay to take their sick child or elderly parent to the doctor or pay higher prices for essential medicines.

Labor is the only party that can be trusted with Australias health system and we will fight any attempt to dismantle universal healthcare in Australia.