Opposition Leader Peter Dutton used his budget reply speech to excoriate the government while at the same time pumping up his own record as a minister. But did he stick to the facts?
Peter Dutton excoriated Labor in his budget reply while pumping up his own record. But did he stick to the facts?Manufacturing insolvencies, bulk-billing rates, health spending and inflation were some of the issues Mr Dutton used to attack Labor's record and spruik his own from when he was last in government as a minister.Mr Dutton lashed the government's energy policies, attempting to tie them to an uptick in manufacturing insolvencies since Labor was elected.
These had helped push the number of manufacturing insolvencies down to a decade low in the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22. "When we left government, bulk-billing was 88.5 per cent," Mr Dutton went on. "What Labor tried to hide in its budget is that bulk billing has decreased to 77 per cent — an 11 per cent drop."In 2021, then-health minister Greg Hunt said that under the Coalition the proportion of people receiving GP services for free had increased to nearly 90 per cent. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
During Mr Dutton's time as health minister, the proportion of people always bulk-billed remained more stable, increasing from 61.1 per cent in 2012-13 to 62.4 per cent in 2013-14, and then to 63.7 per cent in 2014-15. "This Budget reduces growth in Commonwealth funding of these sectors over the medium-term, generating momentum for longer-term reforms to be considered," the budget said.Mr Dutton attacked the government over the cost of living, drawing unfavourable comparisons between Australia and other nations.
While Australia sits well below the OECD average, this figure is inflated by the inclusion of Türkiye, with runaway headline inflation of 66.8 per cent.
Reply Health Hospitals Manufacturing Bulk-Billing Power Energy Bill Inflation Cost Of Living
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