16 News

The Morrison Government is investing $9.2 million to make a life changing medicine for childhood epilepsy available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which will help them to control their seizures.
From 1 May 2019, the PBS listing of Vimpat® (lacosamide) will be extended to include treatment of intractable partial epileptic seizures for children aged four to 15 years, in combination with two or more anti-epileptic medicines.
These children suffer seizures that affect only one part of the brain and they experience inadequate seizure control with currently available anti-epileptic drugs. This medicine helps control brain chemicals which send signals to nerves, so that seizures do not happen.
Without the PBS subsidy, patients and their families would otherwise pay more than $4,700 per year for this treatment. They will now pay just $40.30 per script or $6.50 with a concession card, thanks to this listing on the PBS.
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain that affects people of all ages. There are approximately 14,000 children aged 15 years and under with partial onset seizures and this medicine will help 870 children per year who have trouble in controlling their epilepsy and seizures.
The Morrison Government is continuing to make life changing medicines available to Australians at affordable prices through the PBS. These treatments improve lives. Listing these medicines on the PBS means that these life-changing medications are no longer out of reach for many patients and families.
This listing builds on the $330 million investment in new medicines we announced in the Budget, in particular cancer medicines:

• Ibrance® will be available on the PBS for the treatment of inoperable advanced metastatic breast cancer. Without subsidy, people would pay $55,000 per year.
• Bavencio® will be available on the PBS for the treatment of metastatic merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and highly aggressive type of skin cancer. Without subsidy, people would pay $150,000 per year.

• Besponsa® will be available on the PBS for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Without subsidy, people would pay $120,000 per year.

These new and amended PBS listings will take effect from 1 May 2019. Patients will now be able to access all of these medicines for just $40.30 per script or $6.50 with a concession card. All were recommended by the independent expert Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Unlike Labor, we are listing all medicines recommended by the independent medical experts. In 2011, when Bill Shorten was Assistant Treasurer, Labor stopped listing medicines because they ran out of money as a result of their poor economic management.
Since 2013, the Coalition Government has listed more than 2,000 new or amended items on the PBS. This represents an average of around 31 listings per month – or one each day – at an overall cost of around $10.6 billion.
Our commitment to ensuring that Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.

The Morrison Government is investing almost $92 million to support better health care for all Tasmanians, improving waiting times for elective surgery, boosting mental health and maternity services and increasing cancer diagnosis scans.
The Tasmanian Health Plan also provides greater support for Tasmanians in rural and remote locations while increasing a wide range of vital services, from GPs to hospital care and specialist health services.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this investment would improve the health of all Tasmanians.
“Our strong economic management means we can provide record investment in Medicare, public hospitals and medicines, delivering more doctors, more nurses and more services to Tasmanians.”
“We can deliver this record investment in health without raising taxes for hard-working Tasmanians.
“We will invest $34.7 million to reduce surgical waiting times by providing an additional 6,000 surgeries and endoscopies and for primary care support for Tasmanians in rural and remote locations through TazReach.”
$10 million will support the Menzies Multiple Sclerosis Flagship Program to improve the quality of life for the more than 25,000 Australians living with MS by conducting research into cures and prevention of the disease.
$10 million will be invested in a new residential eating disorder clinic in Hobart, to provide in-patient specialist care for people experiencing eating disorders.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said around one million Australians live with an eating disorder, which is a complex condition with a high mortality rate.
“This treatment option will be an Australian first, providing diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders across the state, through training, education and advocacy,” Minister Hunt said.
“Eating disorder patients will also benefit from our historic decision to provide Medicare benefits for up to 40 psychological and 20 dietetic sessions per person per year.”
$10.5 million will be provided for a new walk-in mental health centre in Launceston, providing an environment where people can receive psychological, counselling or other mental health services without a prior appointment.
The centre will cater for people in crisis as well as those at risk, providing an alternative to the hospital emergency department.
$3 million will fund two new diagnostic mammography units, one in Hobart and one in Launceston.
These new machines will ensure that Tasmanian women do not have to wait to obtain x-rays to check their breasts for cancer. Earlier diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer can save lives, especially for women over 40.
A further $400,000 will support upgrades to new birthing suites in Launceston General Hospital to better support women giving birth.
In Tasmania, funding for public hospitals will increase from $425 million a year (2018-19) to $525 million (2024-25) under a new agreement with the Tasmanian Government, which has primary responsibility for public hospitals.
This is in addition to the $730.4 million we provided to support Mersey Community Hospital.
Our Tasmanian Health Plan will result in new health initiatives, new infrastructure and new medical research, with real benefits for the people across Tasmania.

A Shorten Labor Government would kick off the process of opening Rockhampton Airport to international aviation, looking to supercharge growth of the Central Queensland economy.
An incoming Labor Government would invest $1 million to develop a business case to determine the viability of upgrading Rockhampton Airport’s status to that of a Regional International Gateway.
It would connect Central Queensland producers to the lucrative markets of Asia, creating huge opportunities for high-end agricultural exports.
The change would also provide a direct international tourism gateway to the region’s magnificent tourism assets, including the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef to the north and east and the Sandstone Wilderness to the west.
Most importantly, upgrading the Rockhampton Airport would boost economic activity and jobs growth right across the region.
Regional International Gateway airports require the capacity to deliver international airport services including customs and immigration.
The business case is a crucial first step that will examine the cost of expanding such facilities at Rockhampton, as well as the economic benefits of opening the region to the world.
Airports at Townsville, Cairns, the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba are already designated Regional International Gateways.
It is beyond time that we look at the potential for Rockhampton Airport to join the international aviation community.
Over nearly six years of cuts and chaos,the Liberal National Party has been too focused on infighting to pay serious regard to regional economic development.
By contrast, Labor has a plan to assist every region in the nation to achieve its full economic potential through investment in critical rail and roads as well as support for tourism, aviation and economic diversification.
Labor’s plan for the Rockhampton Airport builds upon existing commitments for Central Queensland including $800 million for the Rockhampton Ring Road, $25 million for the South Rockhampton Flood Levee and $15 million to upgrade the Capricorn Highway.
Owned and operated by the Rockhampton Regional Council, the Airport is a major Australian regional airport, with flights to Brisbane, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns and the Gold Coast. Approximately 650,000 passengers pass through its terminal every year.

A Shorten Labor Government will slash waiting times for cancer treatment and surgery in public hospitals, with a $500 million investment in waiting lists across Australia.
When people are sick, the last thing they need is to sit on long waiting lists watching the clock for the treatment they need.
However, under the Liberals’ cuts to health and hospitals, waiting times for essential surgery and procedures have blown out.
Average waiting times for elective surgery have increased in every state and territory under the Liberals.
One in ten Australians will have to wait an average 47 days to get a breast lump removed or checked.
83 per cent of people who receive a positive result from the government’s bowel screening program don’t undergo a colonoscopy within the recommended time.
That’s why, as part of Labor’s $2.3 billion Medicare Cancer Plan, we will act to ensure that it is your Medicare card, not your credit card, that determines access to potentially life-saving surgery.
Labor will work with the states and territories to establish a National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Cancer Care, to slash waiting times for surgery and consultations in Australia’s public hospitals. This investment is in addition to Labor’s $2.8 billion Better Hospitals Fund.
Labor’s public hospital cancer blitz will mean:

• More Australians can receive free cancer care in public hospitals
• Public waiting times will be reduced, forcing fewer patients into the private system
• Downwards pressure will be put on private out-of-pocket costs through increased competition from the public system

Labor’s $500 million investment is equivalent to:

• Almost 19,000 major breast reconstructions
• Over 250,000 free colonoscopies
• Almost 1.4 million free consultations with medical oncologists
• Almost 1.8 million free consultations with radiation therapists or
• Almost 2.9 million free consultations with cancer nurses or allied health providers

Public patients generally visit a specialist in an outpatient department for referral to surgery, radiation therapy or other procedures.
Long waiting times for these initial consultations can force patients into the private system, where they may face large out-of-pocket costs.
When someone is sick, they shouldn’t face the cruel choice of long public hospital waiting times or being forced to pay huge out-of-pocket costs in the private system.
Addressing inequality in our health care system is critical to addressing inequality in survival rates across the country – people living in rural and regional Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders wait longer for the treatment they need and have poorer health outcomes.
This investment is part of Labor’s $2.3 billion Medicare Cancer Plan – a plan to make sure it is your Medicare card, not your credit card, that determines your access to health care.
Our Medicare Cancer Plan will deliver cheaper cancer scans, cheaper cancer specialist consultations and cheaper cancer medicines.
The Medicare Cancer Plan will cover an additional 2,000 specialist consultation a day –  with no out-of-pocket costs.
For people who need a cancer scan – every MRI machine, in every postcode, will be eligible for Medicare.
For CT scans, X-Rays, mammograms, PET scans – this plan will cut out-of-pocket costs and provide up to six million free scans.
We can pay for our plan because we are making multinationals pay their fair share and closing tax loopholes used by the top end of town.
We’re prioritising health and hospitals – making sure Australians have access to the best medicines and care, because we’d rather have the world’s best health system not the world’s best tax loopholes.
Labor will invest in cancer care, we’ll fight for Medicare and we will always make sure it is your Medicare card, not your credit card that determines access to health.

The ANAO report released today has confirmed the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is a politically motivated waste of taxpayers money designed to funnel cash into projects like the Adani coal mine, the Greens say.
Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters said the ANAO has found the NAIF lacks transparency and has made inconsistent decisions.
“The Greens have said NAIF was opaque from the word go. It has been a political exercise to appease the Nationals, rather than actually meeting the needs of northern Australians,” she said.
“NAIF was all set to pour taxpayer money into Adani’s proposed coal mine before the Queensland government vetoed it, and later a rival rail provider also pulled the plug on their application.
“If the Greens’ amendments to the NAIF legislation had received support from either major party, NAIF would have been prohibited from funding fossil fuel developments, and instead could focus on providing the clean, green infrastructrure that could help people in Northern Australia.
“The Auditor General’s report, commissioned at the recommendation of a Senate Inquiry which I initiated, found that NAIF’s assessment criteria are not transparent, assessment processes are inconsistent, and the CEO has too much power.
“Only a handful of projects considered by the NAIF have addressed an identified infrastructure need.
“NAIF is also operating in a secretive and underhanded way. They are not fully compliant with FOI processes. There are no minutes of weekly meetings with the Minister’s office. And some board members are using non-NAIF email accounts to conduct NAIF business, and further evading scrutiny in the process.”
The Greens want NAIF overhauled so it’s required to consider the Australian Government’s policy commitment to the Paris Agreement, the climate impacts of a project and to prohibit the NAIF from financing infrastructure which would facilitate the extraction, refinement, transportation or burning of thermal coal or gas.
Legislation should also be passed to ensure a suitable person test is added to the NAIF’s consideration of a project.
The recent decision by the government to further loosen already lax criteria for investment is not the solution and serve only to further demonstrate this government’s retrograde obsession with fossil fuels.

The fish kill report underlines that the environment must be put first and we need a royal commission to fix the management of the Murray Darling Basin before it is too late.
“Water allocations and licenses must be changed in order to make sure there is enough water in the river when flows are low. To do this the parliament must lift the freeze on water buybacks and reinstate the ability to purchase water for the environment,”
“In order to save the river more environmental water must be purchased off irrigators. This means reinstating water buy backs and reversing cuts to environmental flows previously supported by the Labor and Liberal parties.
“This report shows very clearly that the environment has been forgotten and climate change disregarded in managing the Murray Darling Basin, and that must change.
“This report, along with the South Australian Royal Commission and the Productivity Commission, shows that the greed of the big corporate irrigators must be tackled head on. When water levels are low, the environment must be prioritised, which ultimately means big irrigators must be prevented from taking more than the river can handle.
“This report comes as new polling shows 73 per cent of South Australians support the Greens’ push for a federal Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin.”