Labor ‘drained’ regions of doctors, new priority regions questioned

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston has accused the Labor government of ‘cherrypicking’ after 10 of 17 new GP priority areas unveiled on Monday were in Labor electorates.

The Royal Flying Doctor service visits Outback stations in the Coober Pedy region in far north South Australia. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said this week that changes to placement of overseas doctors in 2022 had ‘drained doctors from rural and remote ­communities’. Picture Matt Turner

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

The Albanese government has “drained” general practice doctors from regional areas by ­redirecting newly migrated health professionals, the peak GP association says, as the ­Coalition calls on the government to explain why a majority of the new communities listed for priority GP access are in Labor electorates.

Health Minister Mark Butler this week unveiled 17 communities that would be eligible for the pool of overseas-trained doctors, who have to work outside of metropolitan areas before they can be a Medicare provider.

Regional and rural communities are automatically given the Distribution Priority Area classification, while metropolitan areas with GP services that are lower than the benchmark can also be granted such a status.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said this week that changes to the system in 2022 had “drained doctors from rural and remote ­communities”.

“While this latest announcement is good news for some, it will not help communities where the need is greatest,” said RACGP rural chair Michael ­Clements. “If everywhere is a priority, the system doesn’t work.”

Of the 17 new metropolitan DPAs unveiled by Mr Butler on Monday, 10 are in Labor ­electorates, five in ­Coalition seats, one is held by the Greens, and another by Centre ­Alliance, according to polling booth-level data propagated to the new electoral boundaries.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston accused the government of “cherry­picking” the areas within two months of a federal election.

“It has never been harder or more expensive to see a GP,” she said. “The Albanese government has created a primary-care crisis across the entire country, but they are cherrypicking assistance for particular areas to suit their interests.

“The government must be transparent with the details and explain how these particular locations were chosen.

“The DPA system was put in place to help rural communities who face unique challenges in accessing workforce.

“Communities in the bush ­depended on the advantage that this provided them in ­getting ­access to desperately needed GPs. This government just doesn’t get rural and regional Australia. They have ignored the seriousness of workforce ­shortages for three years, and now they are further harming rural communities in an attempt to put a Band-Aid over their own mess.”

A Labor statement on ­Monday said the DPA classifications had been decided based on data.

“The DPA statuses for these areas have been updated based on the most recent Department of Health and Aged Care data on outer metropolitan areas with lower levels of GP services, compared with a benchmark level,” the statement reads.

“This includes considering data on the level of Medicare billed GP services patients received for the latest calendar year; and the demographics of the community, including age, gender and socio-economic ­status.”

Mr Butler was contacted for comment but did not respond prior to publication.