Bill Shorten 7.30 interview: Leigh Sales loses patience over Medicare

LEIGH Sales quizzed Labor Leader Bill Shorten last night. There was one topic she couldn’t bear to hear about anymore.

LEIGH Sales has lived up to her reputation as she grilled Bill Shorten on issues surrounding the upcoming election and beyond.

The Labor leader lived up to his promise last night to appear on 7.30 twice before the end of the election and answered questions on a host of issues, including international diplomacy.

Yet it was the Medicare issue led to a testy exchange, with Sales telling Mr Shorten to “wrap it up” mid-interview.

Despite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s continued assurances that Medicare was safe from private hands, Mr Shorten said “the Liberals cannot be trusted with Medicare”.

“This election boils down to this choice: you can have Malcolm Turnbull or you can have Medicare, you just can’t have both,” he said.

Sales suggested that Mr Shorten’s comments were an “overreach”, despite Mr Shorten saying he was “gravely concerned for the future of Medicare”.

Sales challenged Mr Shorten to provide evidence that the Coalition had a Medicare privatisation policy this election.

“I have no doubt that if the Coalition had their way, they would systematically undermine Medicare, brick by brick, piece by piece,” Mr Shorten replied.

Sales tried to run through a few other quick examples but the Opposition Leader said he believed health care was the key issue.

“We did go through Medicare a lot last time we spoke,” Sales pointed out.

“Oh, it was only just because you were challenging what I was saying and I just wanted to say,” he replied, before Sales hit him with “Wrap it up, yep.”

Mr Shorten then went on to say how the government was freezing the GP rebate for six years.

“That’s going to affect bulk billing. The Royal College of GPs say that,” he told her.

“They’re increasing the price of medicine and they’re also, as of tomorrow, getting rid of bulk billing in centres for blood tests and X-rays. The Liberals cannot be trusted with Medicare. I mean, this election boils down to this choice: you can have Malcolm Turnbull or you can have Medicare, you just can’t have both.”

Sales to Shorten: ‘Wrap it up.’ Picture: 7:30

Leigh Sales grilled Shorten on various issues. Picture: 7:30

Sales then asked if that was an overreach, to which Mr Shorten said: “A vote for Malcolm Turnbull will see billions of dollars of reduction in the Medicare.”

But the journalist didn’t stop there, quizzing Mr Shorten further by asking him if he really believed voters had a choice between Malcolm Turnbull or Medicare.

“Is that what you really believe?” she asked.

“I really believe that if Malcolm Turnbull gets elected, Medicare as we know it will be smashed in terms of funding, bulk billing will be greatly under pressure,” Mr Shorten said.

“It was revealed this week by the Royal Australian College of GPs that in fact even though Mr Turnbull says 86 per cent of doctors bulk bill, the fact of the matter is only 43 per cent of doctors now provide bulk billing for between 80 and 100 per cent of their customers. And I am gravely concerned for the future of Medicare.”

Sales also asked about Brexit and the “potentially destabilising” effect of Donald Trump becoming United States president.

“You’ve previously said that some of Mr Trump’s views are ‘barking mad’. If you were the prime minister, presumably you could not in good conscience send Australian troops into US-led military actions if you believed that the commander-in-chief were barking mad,” she asked.

Mr Shorten said the American alliance with Australia would remain a cornerstone of Labor foreign policy.

“Let’s be really clear here. There is no difference between Liberal and Labor when it comes to the importance of the US alliance to Australian foreign policy. In terms of a military scenario in the future, I’m not going to make strategic military decisions on The 7.30 Report, Leigh,” he said.

“He’s got some views which I, and to be honest, I think most Australians, don’t agree with, but it’s up to the American people who they select.

“I’m not going to start catastrophising about the US alliance, Leigh. And in terms of military engagements in the future, the sort of prime minister I’ll be is I’m not going to sort of give a spur-of-the-moment answer on a show, even one as respectable as this.”

Finally, Sales moved on to Mr Shorten’s future and asked what would happen if he lost the election and whether colleagues would be jockeying for his position.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s very fair,” Mr Shorten said.

“I think Labor in the last three years has … deserved some respect for the degree of unity. We’ve shown more unity in the last three years than we’ve shown in the previous 15 or 20 years.”

Mr Shorten said if you wanted to talk about leadership tension, look at the Liberal party.

“Nine months ago if you’ve been interviewing the Liberal prime minister, it would’ve been Tony Abbott,” he said.

Sales said opposition leader was a position from which everyone wanted to graduate and asked if Mr Shorten was prepared to stick with it for another three years.

But Mr Shorten replied he hadn’t given up on winning and that Labor was ready to govern.

“We’ve got policies that we’re ready to implement, we’re ready to serve. And I’m gonna make one final promise on this — election promise and do it on your show: if people vote for Labor, we won’t let them down,” he said.

Originally published as Bill Shorten 7.30 interview: Leigh Sales loses patience over Medicare