ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT - STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS - PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME

Promises are important and, if you make one, you should keep it. Unfortunately with the government, they don't keep their promises. Take this letter from the Minister for Health and Aged Care to Trent Twomey, President of the Pharmacy Guild, where he states:

Labor also looks forward to working with the Guild to explore further opportunities to lower drug prices in a budget neutral way that do not adversely affect the viability of community pharmacies.

Labor also looks forward to working with the Guild to ensure the implementation of the current community pharmacy agreement includes reforms that do not negatively impact on either the viability of community pharmacies or patient's access to community pharmacy services.

Well, we know that the double dispensing is going to affect the viability of pharmacies. Twelve hundred of the 4,000 pharmacies across Australia are in regional areas, and they're worried. We saw the anger yesterday. Three hundred and twenty-four country towns do not have a doctor, and the pharmacy is the only health professional. We need at all times to protect those pharmacies to make sure that they can continue to operate as small businesses and, more importantly, to provide the health advice and all the things that they do. This is going to kill many pharmacies, and it is just wrong. This is no mystery fiction whatsoever; the pharmacists know the Butler did it!