PM stares down threats to scuttle agenda
Pharmacists are lobbying senators to block Anthony Albanese’s 60-day dispensing policy in the parliament, as chemists start cutting hours, services and staff.
Pharmacists are lobbying senators to block Anthony Albanese’s 60-day dispensing policy in the parliament, as chemists start scaling back essential services, restricting hours, letting go of staff and shutting their doors ahead of new rules coming into effect.
The Prime Minister faces multiple parliamentary fights when MPs return to Canberra on Monday amid pushback over his cheaper medicines plan, $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund, the voice and industrial relations reforms.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will use Question Time to attack Labor over the economy, jobs and the government’s referendum to constitutionally enshrine a voice to parliament and executive government.
With polling showing the cost-of-living crisis dominating voter sentiment, Mr Albanese’s parliamentary priorities this week are focused on government support for households, housing, aged care and national security.
A showdown over Labor’s cheaper medicines plan will focus on concerns raised by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia about chemists scaling back services and the Montville pharmacy in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland shutting its doors on the weekend.
Other examples raised by the guild include a Canberra chemist closing its baby clinic after 25 years in operation and letting go of casual staff, part-time nurses and pharmacists. A WA pharmacist is no longer open on Sunday and the day-night chemist in Darwin has reduced evening, weekend and public holiday trading hours.
The guild is urging Coalition, Greens and crossbench senators to support a disallowance motion in the upper house to block Health Minister Mark Butler’s double dispensing rules due to begin on September 1.
The powerful lobby group, which has warned of mass pharmacy closures and 20,000 jobs lost, is using new legal advice to persuade senators to delay the 60-day dispensing rules and allow more time for consultation with 6000 community pharmacists and the finalisation of government-commissioned modelling.
Guild president Trent Twomey said the “Montville pharmacy is the canary in the coal mine and the Prime Minister and Health Minister need to realise the immediate real-world consequences of their policy”.
Professor Twomey said pharmacists wanted cheaper medicines for patients but believed it could be achieved “without losing jobs, closing pharmacies or ending free patient services”.
“The government has forced funding cuts on community pharmacies and what we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg. What is abundantly clear is that the government is juggling too many policy issues and they’ve dropped the ball on 60 days. They should hit pause and properly sit down with community pharmacies to get it right,” Professor Twomey told The Australian.
Mr Butler, who must formally lodge his ministerial regulation enforcing the policy by next week, will need to win over the Greens who have raised concerns about the cheaper medicines plan. A notice of disallowance must be lodged within 15 sitting days of the regulation being tabled.
The Health Minister last week announced a $148.2m investment in regional, rural and remote pharmacies under a four-year package to help chemists transition to 60-day prescriptions.
“This will halve the cost of medicines for more than six million Australians, including pensioners, who are living with an ongoing health condition,” Mr Butler said.
Independent ACT senator David Pocock on Monday will introduce his first private senator’s Bill, seeking to legislate a positive duty of care and requiring politicians to “consider the impact of climate harm on young people and future generations”.
Senator Pocock’s Bill follows the overturning of a 2020 court challenge testing whether the Morrison government had a duty of care to not approve new fossil fuel projects that could harm future generations.
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