Minister for Health and Aged Care - press conference - 5 January 2025

MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE, MARK BUTLER: Thanks everyone. It's a great privilege to be here again at The Pink Day of the Sydney Test, the fifth Test, and what's been an enthralling series between two great cricketing nations. Today, I understand the McGrath Foundation has broken their serious records for fundraising yet again. At the moment, I think we're up to more than 390,000 virtual seats being bought by Australians who are so eager to support a great cause led by one of Australia's great charities.
 
More than 12 months ago, Glenn McGrath and I announced that the Albanese Government was investing in a comprehensive nursing and navigation service for cancer patients that would ensure that all cancer patients, no matter where they lived, no matter their type of cancer, would get the sort of support treatment and care that have become synonymous with the support that the McGrath Foundation has been offering breast cancer patients now for about 20 years or so. We are determined to make sure that there is equity in cancer treatment, as I said, no matter the cancer type. I was delighted that when I first spoke to the McGrath Foundation about this ambition from our government back in 2023 that they were agreeable to taking up this new challenge and expanding their proven model for breast cancer to all cancer types. And that's why this test is so exciting, because the great vision and legacy of Glenn and Jane McGrath in supporting breast cancer patients through a really difficult journey from this test onwards, is extended to all cancer types. And already, the extra funding that we've been providing the Foundation is leading to more all cancer nurses being supported and employed by the McGrath Foundation to do exactly that, and that expansion will continue over the next couple of years.
 
Today, also, I announced a further investment of $2.3 million to allow the Foundation to expand their proven online model, ‘Find My Nurse’ again, beyond breast cancer patients to patients experiencing other cancer types as well. To ensure that as people went through that really difficult, harrowing process of trying to find support after receiving a diagnosis, they could do that online, as well as talking to their healthcare professionals. Happy to take any questions that people have about that or other matters.
 
JOURNALIST: Hello, Minister Butler, it's Noah from The Australian here. I have a few questions. Firstly, when will you announce the private health insurance premium rise for this year?
 
BUTLER: We're going through the usual process for private health insurance premium rises. The applications or submissions were made by the 29 or so private health insurance companies. I've also received advice from APRA, the Prudential Regulation Authority that examines the capital adequacy positions of private health insurance companies. And also initial advice from the department late last year about things like the benefit payout ratio, so how much of the revenue that insurance companies were receiving are actually being paid out to their members for actual healthcare received. After I received that late last year, I wrote to all health insurance companies, effectively asking them to sharpen their pencils and to look at their submissions again and provide us with one that was more in the interests of their members. They were due to do that, but by the first few days of January, I assume that they've been received and are being processed right now by the department. As soon as I'm confident that I've got the best deal for Australia's consumers, those members of private health insurance funds, while also, of course, having an eye on the sustainability and viability of the private health insurance system I'll make that announcement.
 
JOURNALIST: So should we expect that sometime later this month, later next month? Do we have a rough time frame?
 
BUTLER: I want to do it as soon as I responsibly can. I'm determined to get the best deal for Australian consumers. Now, if that requires me to go back again to private health insurance companies, which I had to do in the 23-24 summer. Had to go back to them three times. Then I'll do that if I don't think I've got the best position for Australian consumers. But I haven't yet received the advice about the resubmissions that private health insurance companies were asked to get to the government, I think on the second or third of January, so only in the last couple of days.
 
JOURNALIST: Okay, my second question about the New South Wales private insurance levy; the health department has previously said that this levy would see about a 2 to 3 per cent rise for New South Wales members, or 1 per cent rise across the country, depending on how the insurers choose to pass on that cost. Now there was a December deal between the New South Wales Government, and the private health insurers that saw that levy not go through,  about private beds. Will that new kind of agreement contribute 2.5 per cent to health insurance premiums like the Private Healthcare Australia says?
 
BUTLER: I can't say that right now. One of the things that we are keen to ensure is that as private health insurance companies are making their submissions for approval of a private health insurance premium rise for 2025 that they're very clear about what the impact of that deal that was struck, as you say, between the New South Wales Government and health insurance companies operating in that jurisdiction are. Now, what that figure is not finally clear yet. It was contained in many of their original submissions and will be contained, I'm sure, in further detail through the resubmission. But I can't confirm that figure at this stage.

JOURNALIST: Was the New South Wales deal a welcome one? Would you have preferred to see the levy? Or which one would you have preferred?
 
BUTLER: Obviously, I'd prefer not to have any further pressure on private health insurance premiums. But ultimately, this was a matter between the New South Wales Government and private health insurance companies. The state government took the view that they weren't getting proper revenue for public hospital beds that were being occupied, effectively by private patients. That was a matter that was subject to discussion, negotiation, some cases argument between the two parties, and they ultimately came to an agreement.
 
JOURNALIST: Thank you for that. I have two final questions not related to that. There's been reports of a surge in China of this disease called the human metapneumovirus. Is this something the government's aware of? Is the government doing anything about it?
 
BUTLER: These are pretty recently emerging reports about the impact that human metapneumovirus or HMPV, is having in China. It's not uncommon for there to be a surge in respiratory illnesses during the Chinese winter and for that to impact their hospital systems. This type of respiratory illness, as I say, human metapneumovirus is quite common here in Australia, has been for a long time. For example, in 2024 as I understand it, about 8 or 9 per cent of recorded respiratory illnesses presenting to general practice was that type of illness. That ranked fifth in all of the usual respiratory illnesses that people would be familiar with here in Australia. We monitor it to the degree we can. There's not currently an antiviral treatment available specifically for that type of respiratory illness. There's not a vaccine, although I understand that there are some under development. This is something we're pretty familiar with, this type of respiratory illness in Australia. We obviously monitor it, as we do influenza and COVID and RSV and the pretty standard Coronavirus. But we're monitoring the situation in China I'm asking to be kept up to date by my department. But this is something that we're pretty familiar with. It's a type of illness we're pretty familiar with here in Australia.
 
JOURNALIST: Okay, and Minister final question, thank you for your patience. Do you think the Coalition supports an Australian CDC?
 
BUTLER: I haven't heard whether the Coalition supports an Australian CDC. I haven't heard much about what the Coalition's policy is in relation to health generally. I've heard Angus Taylor say that much of our additional investment in strengthening Medicare is to use his terms “wasteful spending” and indicate that it would be on the chopping block in the event of a Coalition government being elected sometime this year. That obviously deeply worries me in terms of our ability to continue the operations of our Urgent Care Clinic network, our extra investments in bulk billing and cheaper medicines, and of course, becoming the last country in the OECD to put in place a Centre for Disease Control. This has been something very warmly welcomed by the public health sector. It will really add to our ability to deal with the next pandemic when it comes, rather than if it comes. We hope that that's many years down the track. But of course, we would want to see bipartisan support for this very important health reform. But we've heard very little from Peter Dutton about these things.
 
JOURNALIST: I’m doing a story on the bill of the Welcome To Country ceremonies over the last two years. How can you justify how much money is being spent on Welcome To Country ceremonies by the government?
 
BUTLER: This just tells me again that the Opposition is more interested in fighting culture wars than joining us in the war on inflation and helping Australian households with the cost-of-living pressures that they've been struggling with, like households across the world. The truth is, nothing has changed since we were elected to government in 2022 about the Commonwealth's approach to Welcomed To Country here, or indeed a practice that's reflected by many private sector organisations, including the high tea that I just attended. This is just an attempt to stoke a culture war here. Of course, we expect departments to ensure that they're getting value for money for this and many other elements of the events that they hold across the country as part of their role as the public service. But nothing has changed over a number of years now, including the practice that was commonly in place under the former government.
 
JOURNALIST: You mentioned value for money. Why are then ceremonies held by the Prime Minister's Office so much more expensive than other departments?
 
BUTLER: I suspect that reflects the number of events that different departments have, the degree to which some departments are more public facing than others. But really that's a matter you'd have to address to individual departments. Our expectation as a government is that all departments would ensure that they are getting value for taxpayers’ money in holding the events that they hold as part of being a valuable public service.
 
BUTLER: I think a lot of people would be shocked about this. Now, why do you think taxpayers should continue footing the bill for these ceremonies?
 
BUTLER: As I say, this has been a common practice for many years. It was a standard practice under the former government. It is by state governments, it is by most private sector organisations that hold public facing events. This is frankly an attempt to stoke a culture war by an Opposition that in lead up to election has very little to say about the war on inflation and the position that Australian households are in right now.
 
JOURNALIST: *INAUDIBLE*
 
BUTLER: This is incredibly important legislation, the Foreign Interference and Transparency Scheme that was introduced by the former government. It was something supported in principle by us as an Opposition. The important thing to say, though, is that the bipartisan Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security, one of the Parliament's most powerful and important standing committees, delivered a bipartisan report saying that the former government scheme simply wasn't fit for purpose. It wasn't achieving the purpose that we across the Parliament agreed was really important to protect our national interest. We said as a government that what we would responsibly do is pursue a process of legislative reform that would get the former government scheme up to scratch. Now that we're going to do that carefully to ensure that we don't, in the future, have another bipartisan report that says that the reformed legislative scheme isn't achieving the purpose that's been the verdict of this bipartisan committee on the former government scheme. We're going to do this right. We're going to do it carefully.
 
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned the delayed response will risk our national security, especially ahead of an election?
 
BUTLER: What risks our national security is not getting the legislative scheme right. We all agree that we need a robust scheme to protect our country, our democracy, against foreign interference. The truth is the former government didn't get it right. That was the conclusion of the bipartisan committee on intelligence and security. We are determined to get it right. Thanks, everyone.