THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SUNRISE WITH NATALIE BARR
MONDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2025
SUBJECTS: MORE BULK BILLING FOR EVERY AUSTRALIAN, PETER DUTTON’S RECORD AS HEALTH MINISTER, FEDERAL ELECTION.
NATALIE BARR, HOST: Well, it's been a big 24 hours for Medicare with the government announcing the single largest investment in the scheme since its creation, pledging $8.5 billion to extend bulk billing incentives and train more doctors and nurses in this country. The aim is to make nine out of 10 GP visits bulk billed by 2030. And it only took a few minutes for the Coalition to match that promise, adding on an extra half a billion dollars. For their take, let's bring in Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, good morning to you.
Tanya, this sounds brilliant for a lot of people, free doctors visits for all. But when will I be able to search for a local doctor and see 10 or 20 options that all bulk bill? Because right now it's like finding a needle in a haystack.
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well, the first thing you should do, Nat, is check whether there's a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic near you. We promised 50, we've delivered 87 of them around the country and every single visit there is already bulk billed. As for your local doctor, we've tripled the bulk billing incentive already. This further expansion of incentives to bulk bill means that nine out of ten visits to the doctor will be bulk billed. And as you said, we're training the staff, the doctors and nurses to make sure that they're there to provide those services. You mentioned that Peter Dutton came out and matched this immediately. What you've got to do is not look at what they say five minutes before an election but look at what Peter Dutton did when he was the Health Minister in a previous government. He tried to introduce a $7 GP co-payment. He said that too many visits to the doctor were bulk billed. He tried to put up the cost of medicines and he cut $50 billion from hospital funding.
And that's why doctors at the time voted him the worst Health Minister in Australian history because he wanted to cut Medicare. He said too many visits were bulk billed. Now, five minutes before an election, he says something else. I remember when Tony Abbott promised no cuts to healthcare and then he came in and he slashed and he tried to burn down Medicare.
BARR: So, a politician changing their minds, right, I see what you're saying there. Barnaby, now you guys have said, I want what you're having and the papers are screaming this, ‘whacking an election on the nation's credit card.’ So, can we actually afford this? A lot of people say, yeah, I want a free doctor, who doesn't want a free doctor? But can the nation afford eight, nine billion dollars of this?
BARNABY JOYCE: Well, the first thing I'd say is what Tanya just said, you've got to judge the government by what they do. Well, to this point, they've done nothing. So, on this issue, it's late to the party.
MINISTER PLIBESEK: That's not true.
BARNABY JOYCE: The next thing I'll say, we are framing up the Loch Ness monster campaign here, isn't it? When they run out of things to say, they come out and say, oh, there's a monster in the lake. You know, its ‘Mediscare’ they're going to sell Medicare. Who'd want to sell Medicare first of all, it's a government service and who'd want to buy it? We've got no intentions of doing that. Where does this rubbish come from? It just shows how desperate you are. And the next thing is -
BARR: Okay, let's talk about how we can afford it, Barnaby, because it's a lot of money isn't it.
JOYCE: Okay, we must go back to Parliament. We must go back to Parliament and there must be the discussion around the budget about exactly how this works. And that process, you will definitely see Angus Taylor saying how he's going to pay for it, how we're going to pay for it, and we're going to see how the Labor Party's going to pay for it. So, if you don't go back for a budget, you don't know how you're going to pay for it. There is my challenge.
BARR: Okay, Tanya, are you going to go back-
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, hang on a minute. Just on that.
BARR: Are you going to go back? Yep. Okay
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Let’s talk about that for a minute. Peter Dutton's promised $650 billion worth of nuclear reactors. He won't say how he'll pay for them. He's promised $10 billion worth of bosses lunches -
JOYCE: Let's go to the budget. Let's go to the budget. Let's have a budget.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: He won't say how he'll pay for them.
BARR: She's right, Barnaby, he hasn't said how he is going to pay for all the nukes.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: What Peter Dutton said on TV is we will cut. Yeah, he said we'll cut, but he won't tell you until after the election what he's going to cut. He said that on TV.
BARR: Barnaby, she's right there.
JOYCE: Well, then let's go - the perfect venue for this is for the treasurers to dual it out during the Budget. And so, I absolutely see the earnestness of this. We'll see you in Canberra. We'll all go have the discussion about that.
BARR: So, Tanya, on that question, are you going to go back and have a budget on March 25 or was this the real election launch yesterday? Is the Prime Minister now going to call an election tomorrow?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I don't know when the Prime Minister is going to call the election, but Peter Dutton could stand up today and do a press conference and say how he's going to pay for his nuclear reactors and what he's going to cut after the election. Why wouldn't he do that? Why does he need to be in Canberra to say that?
BARR: Are you going to have a budget on March 25th?
JOYCE: Sounds like we're not going to a budget. You're the government, go to a budget.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I don't know, that's entirely up to the Prime Minister. There's nothing stopping Peter Dutton getting up today.
JOYCE: Go to a budget.
BARR: Let's talk about the polling out today. This is also leading all the press. New polling data puts the Coalition in the box seat to claim victory in the next election, which we're sure it's about to happen, but we're not sure of the date. Leading by 55 per cent now over Labor into party terms. Tanya, the majority of voters also say even last week's interest rate cut won't affect their vote, 59 per cent. How concerned are you about that?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, it's a very tight poll. We know that it's a challenge going into this election and that's why we're so focused on reminding people of what the real choice is here. It's a choice between a government that will invest in Medicare and a party, the Liberal Party, that has cut Medicare every opportunity they've had. And we'll remind people of our -
BARR: Well, it's not actually a choice because you guys have got the same policy now. It's actually the same bulk billing policy by the look of it.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Except don't look at what they say two minutes before an election, look at what they've done when they've been in government.
JOYCE: You're so desperate. So desperate.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And when Peter Dutton himself was the Health Minister, when he was in charge, he said too many visits to the doctor were bulk billed and he tried to introduce the $7 GP co-payment. We had to stop him -
JOYCE: The Loch Ness Monster.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: We had to vote against that in the Parliament. We know what he has done as Health Minister. You don't need an imagination, you don't need to think about the future, you just need to remember what he did when he had the chance.
JOYCE: The Loch Ness Monster policy. You need a big imagination actually; you need a big imagination to follow your logic. You need a big imagination. The Loch Ness Monster policy. Go to a budget.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: You just need a bit of history. You just need to remember the history, Barnaby.
BARR: Okay, do you think that he's not going to bring in that policy?
JOYCE: The reason the polling is where it is, is because of cost of living. And your intermittent power plan was a disaster. People are hurting. It hasn't been addressed.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And what's your plan for cost of living, Barnaby? What's your plan for cost of living?
JOYCE: The first thing is to get rid of this crazy intermittent power plan -
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: What's your plan for cost of living?
JOYCE: I'm telling you. At the core of everything is the price of power -
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And that's going to fix cost of living is it?
JOYCE: And your 82 per cent renewables by 2030 is insanity and you’re sticking to it -
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: So, in 2040 when you bring in nuclear, that's going to fix cost of living?
JOYCE: And you're still sticking to your intermittent power plan, you're still sticking to your intermittent power plan, it is crazy.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: So, in 2040, when you bring in nuclear. What's your plan for cost of living, Barnaby?
BARR: You're right Tanya, we need to do a segment just on nuclear because nuclear will take a while to get in and we don't know the price. But maybe it's a good idea. We need to do just a segment on that. They say they will before the election, which should be called soon.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Week after week I ask him what's his plan is for cost of living.
BARR: Barnaby, before we go, I know you're concerned about a friend and former Nationals MP. I know he's had a few troubles in his personal life. What do you want to say about him?
JOYCE: Very serious. Michael, if you're out there, could you please contact Carla? Can you please contact the police? Can you please let people know you're okay? And if anybody has seen Michael or knows where Michael is, can you please contact Crime Stoppers? Michael, if you're there, mate, there are so many people who love you. And we're really scared, mate. We're really scared. Please stick your head up somewhere and say g'day.
BARR: Okay. That's former Nationals MP Michael Johnsen. Thank you both very much. We'll see you next week.
END
