KRISTINA KENEALLY, HOST: Lets bring in someone who can speak for the Labor Party on this and other matters, Campaign Spokesperson Senator Penny Wong. Thanks for joining us on To The Point.
SENATOR PENNY WONG, CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: Hi, how are you both? Having a fun time there I see.
KENEALLY: Oh, we're having a great time. We're in furious disagreement, which is not unusual on the program. Peter, Im guessing you want to ask the first question of Penny Wong.
PETER VAN ONSELEN, HOST: No, look because it would just be the usual stuff, to be perfectly honest. I'm so disappointed with both sides of politics now.
WONG: I'm very happy to go off and do something else if you would prefer I dont engage in your program. But you asked me on, if you want to ask me a question I'm here. Otherwise Ill go and have a cup of coffee.
VAN ONSELEN: I'll ask you a question Senator and I'll see if you answer it though. Is bulk billing up or down since the change of Government?
WONG: I think the more important question is what will happen to bulk billing if the Medicare rebate continues to be frozen for six years. And I think I've said to you before on this program, we know from the AMA that they have clearly said that it leads to the co-payments of around or up to about twenty bucks. Now, I know you want to run the Liberal defence lines there, but the reality is-
VAN ONSELEN: -No I don't because I actually agree with you there-
WONG: -Just let me finish-
VAN ONSELEN: -I agree with you that freezing it for six years will see bulk billing go up, absolutely, or will go down I should say-
WONG: -What I was going to say was, and this is not a new attack. I listened to some of your discussion before I got on and the point Ill make is this: every action that this Government has taken in relation to Medicare and medicines since their election has been about lessening the universality of the system. It has been about undermining Medicare, it has been about seeking to impose higher costs on patients, thereby undermining the fabric of Medicare. So, I appreciate your views Peter, but I think anybody looking at the election of this Government, they sought to introduce a GP tax and now they're trying to do it by other means. They sought to impose higher costs on medicines, they cut the bulk billing incentives, which have helped bulk billing in the pathology and diagnostic departments and they made changes to the Medicare safety net and on top of that we do have their work in privatising the Medicare payments system. Now those are not the actions of a government that is supportive of Medicare. So it is entirely legitimate for the Labor Party to say that this is an election which is a referendum on Medicare, as well as on schools funding, universities funding and many other matters.
KENEALLY: Let me ask this then, now that the Prime Minister has ruled out, now that we've heard Christopher Pyne rule it out and Scott Morrison. Some people, like my colleague, would say that it's disingenuous for Labor to continue to run their advertisement saying that they're going to protect Medicare or even saying that Malcolm Turnbull has plans to privatise it. Given that he's ruled it out, does Labor have to pull those ads now?
WONG: Well, we don't intend to and the reason is this: Tony Abbott ruled out cuts and cuts to education and we all know what subsequently happened. And on Malcolm Turnbull, who I used to have a significant amount of respect for, his words and his actions over a period of time on climate change, on marriage equality, have demonstrated we cannot take him at his word when he says he won't do something.
This is a bloke who said I won't lead a party thats not as committed to climate change as I am. That attacked Tony Abbotts Direct Action scheme and now he says that its great, its fantastic. This is a bloke who said that marriage equality should be put to the Parliament and now he's backing a plebiscite in a very obvious way. I do not think that Mr Turnbull's words on this are in any way more able to be relied on as his words on marriage equality or climate change.
VAN ONSELEN: You see I'm absolutely all for tearing the current Government apart on health. My mother was a nurse, I think their funding is insufficient and I think that the six year freeze on the Medicare rebate is bizarrely insane and unreasonable to doctors, apart from what it will do to bulk billing which I agree with you about. I just think, and both sides of politics do it, so dont get me wrong, they deserve what they get, but as somebody who would like to see the public moderately have something resembling a little bit of respect for their politicians, I just feel like a campaign that says they plan to privatise Medicare when they've already ruled it out and quite frankly they'd never be in Government again if they did it, I just think its over the top.
WONG: Well, you're entitled to your view. I think that there is no doubt that privatisation of the Medicare system was on the cards.So I assume that you're making a distinction between that and other aspects of the policy, you're entitled to make that. I think that Labor is entitled to point to that as well as the range of things that I think you've agreed have been detrimental to the health system that this Government has sought to impose.
VAN ONSELEN: What I do like though, can I ask this, is it a deliberate strategy now to very much, Penny Wong, make it - there are two themes here and I know that both sides will argue about whether they're given ground or not in these spaces. But Labor clearly wants this to be a referendum on health, and we can argue about the particulars of the way its structured. The Liberal Party wants this to be a referendum on so-called management of the economy and obviously Labor will argue the toss about the accuracy of what they claim there. Is that a fair way to categorise this debate from your perspective now on? We've got less than two weeks to go, Labor says re-elect us or bring us back into government on health, the Governments trying to say our management of the economy and voters will be left to decide.
WONG: Look I think elections are always a contest of ideas, but they are also a contest of which is the dominant choice, aren't they? There have been examples of elections over the many years where different issues have played a greater or lesser role depending on the circumstances. I think this election is about many choices and if you had an opportunity to have a conversation like this with every voter you'd talk about many things. But I think its important also to crystallise some key choices which are demonstrative of the different visions, and what I'd say to you is, we say that the key issues that you should consider when voting are Medicare, schools, hospitals and universities and what the Government says is something different. We say when it comes to economic growth that having a $50 billion tax cut, the majority of which will go to foreign shareholders to deliver 0.1% benefit in economic growth at the cost of funding Medi care properly is not a good choice and that is what we say the Government is offering.
KENEALLY: Penny Wong, one of the health offerings that Labor is making and announced in its launch yesterday was in the space of mental health. It seems to me that this has been almost a bit of a sleeper issue on the campaign, one that was put on the campaign agenda by the voters, at the peoples forums, every time we had an opportunity for the leaders to face they voters they've been asked about mental health from the community. This didn't get as much attention yesterday, the small business tax cut sort of overshone it, but what is Labor offering in this space? How is it a different offering to what the Coalition is putting forward and why do you think this issue is really biting in this campaign?
WONG: Well, can I start with the last question. I think mental health has beenan issue of great concern in the community for a long time. And I think when we were in government Mark Butler with the National Mental Health Strategy really elevated the polity and the political focus on it. Katy Gallagher, our Shadow in this area, has done a lot of good policy work and I am sure could talk at length to you about our policy.
I think it is really important that become a greater focus of the election campaign and in fact I'd welcome it being bipartisan. We know we lose around seven Australians a day, by their own hand. One of the things, or two of the things we've announced, we've announced that we would pick up the Mental Health Commission'srecommendations about setting a National Target for reducing suicides. And one of theannouncements Bill made yesterday was for regional projects, which is also arecommendation of that Commission, that is for locally tailoredinterventions,whereyou've got highlevelsof risk, high levels of suicide or suicideattempt. What do we need to do in thosecommunities? Whether it's at school or in someother way to try andreducethat risk for Australians.
VAN ONSELEN: Penny Wong, if you could just stay with us, we need to take a quick break here on the program but there's a lot more to discuss, we are going to take that break now. Kristina Keneally, when we come back we're talking to the Campaign Spokesperson of the Labor Party, Senator Penny Wong.
KENEALLY: Welcome back to To The Point, Kristina Keneally here with Peter Van Onselen, and we're talking to Senator Penny Wong. Senator Wong, I have to ask you, I'll just preface this by saying I was outraged about Eddie McGuire's behaviour. You're a women who is of strong character and leadership, tell me what you think of what he said.
WONG: Well, I've had the opportunity now to see what he said, as opposed to sort of reading the Twitter feed about what people said about what he said and I have got to say, can we just stop, can everyone please stop talking about women in violent terms. I mean, look at the stats on family violence, look at the stats of violence against women. It isn't funny. It isn't funny. So, can we just stop talking about women in ways that are violent? That's what I'd say to him.
VAN ONSELEN: In a moment, Penny Wong, were going to take a speech that has just started with Bill Shorten but just a quick follow up on this, I want to join in your outrage if I can. When is this message going to get across? I mean, it was happening to Julia Gillard when she was Prime Minister. It's happened with Eddie McGuire now, it feels like he's gotten a bit of a light touch in terms of what the head of the AFL has said is going to be done about it, which is essentially nothing.
WONG: Well, I don't know what the AFL is going to do, but they should do something, because I think all of us, if you look at what is happening, to women and girls in our society, and how many women and girls in Australia are being subjected to violence, surely that would mean, high profile men, like Eddie and others, would stop making jokes about it. I mean I think language is important; it's not funny when you joke about these sorts of things, and I wish people would stop telling us oh it's just a joke. Well, it wasn't funny when Alan Jones said that about Julia and this isn't funny either.
KENEALLY: Penny Wong, thank you so much for joining us.
ENDS