Liberal Members on the Coast have broken their election promise by backing the Abbott Government’s GP Tax, according to Senator for NSW Deborah O’Neill.
“Despite promising to lead a government of ‘no surprises’, Tony Abbott has now revealed his true colours, by breaking an election promise and introducing savage cuts and tax increases to Medicare,” said Ms O’Neill. “It is a cruel blow to Coasties who, prior to the election, were promised that a vote for the Liberal Party would mean ‘no cuts to education, no cuts to health, and no change to pensions’.
“This budget is a dangerous social experiment designed to test how much pain families can bear. “ No one on the Coast voted for a GP tax, no one on the Coast voted for a hospital tax, but this is what we get from a Liberal Government that said anything to get into power and now wants to do anything it wants – no matter how much it hurts local people.“ The GP Tax is simply cost shifting by the Abbott Government that will make healthcare much less equitable and much less affordable for every Australian.“
Central Coast residents can expect to pay nearly $10 million in GP taxes, with more than 1.3 million bulk billed services claimed each year. “Make no mistake – with the GP Tax, the Abbott Government is dismantling universal healthcare as we know it in this country. “ Labor believes that all Australians should get the healthcare they need – not just the healthcare Tony Abbott says they can afford.“
Tony Abbott’s GP Tax will mean more parents will be out of pocket when they take their sick kids to the doctor, or families just won’t get the care they need.“ This is clearly a decision driven by ideology rather than evidence and expert advice.“ Despite every health expert advising against this, Tony Abbott has broken his election promise by introducing a GP Tax. “This extreme budget shows that the Liberal Party deceived the Australian people and now can’t be trusted to govern,” Senator O’Neill said.
Media release,
13 May 2014
Richard Mehrtens, office
of Deborah O’Neill