Mrs DRAPER (2:17 PM) —My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Is the minister aware of any misleading statements being made about Medicare; and what is the government's response to these statements?

Mr ABBOTT (Minister for Health and Ageing) —I thank the member for Makin for her question, and I can inform her and other members that over the past few days I have been familiarising myself with Australia's health system and the various challenges it faces. I can tell the House that Australia has a good health system, but it does have some significant contemporary problems. The most pressing is the medical indemnity issue, which is threatening to drive some doctors from public hospitals in Sydney. Then there is the question of ensuring affordable access to a local GP. Mr Speaker, this government cannot solve all problems, but we are determined to make a difference.

One thing that I have learnt, travelling around Australia over the past few days, is that Australians do not want ministers and shadow ministers to play politics with their health, and that means telling the truth about the system and about plans to improve it. I regret to inform the House that, unfortunately, Labor is telling lies about Medicare. I regret to inform the House that at least three Labor members of this House have been distributing misinformation about Medicare—and there may be more. The members for Scullin, Lowe and Banks have said in brochures or advertisements, `The federal government wants to charge a $20 fee every time you visit your doctor.' This is simply not true. The lie is being repeated; it is simply not true, and members opposite know it. This government's position is identical to that of Neal Blewett, the original architect of Medicare: we want bulk-billing to be available but we do not think it can or should be compulsory.

Not only do we have these dodgy dodges being distributed by Labor members but also we have the members for Sydney and Lowe, as well as Senator Ludwig, asking their constituents to sign petitions based on a lie. So the party that brought us push polling has now introduced push petitioning to tell lies about our Medicare system. How do we know it is a lie? We know that Labor is spreading lies because the member for Lalor has said so. She has admitted that what Labor members are spreading are lies. I quote from the Canberra Times of Friday, 19 September:

Labor are quite shameless. They are quite shameless because the fact that these claims are not true has not stopped the member for Lalor from distributing in her own electorate petitions stating, `We therefore pray that the House opposes the introduction of an up-front fee for GP visits.' Mr Speaker, the only person who has ever introduced an up-front fee for GP visits is the member for Lalor's mentor, Brian Howe. He is the only person in this country who has ever tried to do this. I ask the member for Lalor to come clean. How many dodgy dodges have been distributed? How many bodgie petitions have been sent out? How many Australians have been asked to sign petitions based on a lie? I call on the member for Lalor to withdraw these petitions and apologise to those Australians whom Labor have conned.