MPs told not to speak out over concerns for drug dispensing reforms

Accused of hypocrisy by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the double drug dispensing policy is causing a great rift in the government.

Some Labor MPs hold concerns over the drug dispensing proposal and have met with Health Minister Mark Butler in recent days. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Labor MPs are being told not to voice concerns over the government’s move to double drug dispensing in community phar­macies, as the Pharmacy Guild of Australia accuses the government of hypocrisy in the policy.

A key Labor insider on Wednesday called and texted the offices of government MPs strongly advising them not to comment on the issue after The Australian made inquiries.

The advice, which came from the government’s caucus support unit headed up by Mal Larsen, named in Labor circles as the “caucus whisperer”, told MPs to ignore the request, even if they were supportive of the move to double dispensing.

The Australian understands some Labor MPs hold concerns over the proposal – which will extend the dispensing timeframe from 30 to 60 days from July 1 – and have been meeting with Health Minister Mark Butler in recent days to discuss potential impacts on local pharmacies and constituents.

The policy has been welcomed by doctors, who say patients will save money on healthcare, but heavily criticised by pharmacy operators, who said allowing 60-day dispensing could trigger significant medicine short­ages, cause months of delays, increase the risk of overdose and medicine mismanagement, and spark hoarding in homes and aged-care facilities.

One Labor MP, who did not wish to be identified, said comments by ministers regarding pharmacy concerns seemed “unfounded and unproductive”.

“Community pharmacists aren’t millionaires. They are small business owners trying to make a difference on the front line of healthcare. They are a trusted face in every community providing an invaluable service to the towns they live in and care for,” the MP said. “The (Health) Minister owes it to pharmacists to get back at the table and reach a healthy compromise.”

Pharmacy operators have directed their anger at Labor MPs in recent weeks and accused the federal government of failing to consult before implementing the policy in the budget.

Mr Butler said the government was delivering cheaper medicines for more than six million Australians and pledged to continue to work with all parts of the sector on implementation of the policy.

Following the budget announcement this month, Mr Butler’s office provided a “prepared standard response” for MPs fielding concerns about the changes and social media graphics to “bust myths” around the policy.

The leaks came as the Pharmacy Guild of Australia national vice-president Anthony Tassone suggested Labor’s move to double drug dispensing was hypocritical, given the party had attacked a similar policy held by the former Coalition government.

Labor’s health spokeswoman at the time, Catherine King, told the National Press Club in 2019 that any change to drug dispensing must be done through the community pharmacy agreement, with proper consultation.

“That pharmacy agreement is the process by which governments negotiate, with the community pharmacy sector and the wholesalers, about how … the dispensing of medicines is going to be conducted. If you’re going to do anything, which the government looked as though it was going to do, you need to do it within the context of those agreements,” Ms King said.

In a letter to the Pharmacy Guild, then-Labor leader Bill Shorten and Ms King criticised the Liberals for attempting to double the prescription volume without consultation and pledged to “honour” the agreement.

Mr Shorten and Ms King were contacted and asked if they held the same views today, but they did not respond by deadline.