Panel with Natalie Barr and Clare O'Neil, Sunrise
1 November 2023
NATALIE BARR: Let's bring in Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume Good morning to both of you. Clare, this is your department. Tell us how the spies in the business suits are targeting us, how are they getting in?
CLARE O’NEIL: This is one of the biggest national security threats that we face today, and that is spies in suits who are trying to infiltrate the pieces of infrastructure that we all rely on every day. Think about our water system, our energy system, our telecommunications, and what these fires are trying to do is influence the companies, influence the Australian government or degrade and hurt those systems that are very important to us. The Australian Government is incredibly focused on this and it's not a problem that we solve by a visible presence of more police on the street. It's our incredible spy and intelligence agencies that are working hard with me, with other ministers in the Government every day to make sure that we keep on top of this problem.
NATALIE BARR: So explain to us how they're going to what business events, how they're targeting LinkedIn. Are they just business people who are making friends with Australian business people?
CLARE O’NEIL: It's all of the above. Nat It might be people who are trying to apply for a job and actually get employment in a company of this kind. It might be people who are trying to befriend people who have a really important role in business. There is every which way that this is trying to be attempted. What we really need is to lift the level of awareness and vigilance of Australian companies and the people who work in them. And that's why my department's released this report today. We actually want Australians to understand that this threat is real, it is going to grow over time and we need to work in really close partnership with people who have access to special information, who run these systems so we can protect our nation together.
NATALIE BARR: This is a major warning, Jane. How do we let it get to this?
JANE HUME: Well, that's why, in fact, Nat, the last coalition government expanded the definition of what critical infrastructure actually is. It's not just defence assets. It's also things like financial services, payment systems, energy grids. All of that should be included under critical infrastructure. And we also changed the foreign investment laws to allow for much stricter and tighter control of Australians critical assets, including things like divestment powers, so we can in fact divest a company from foreign ownership should that need be the case. That was so important in the previous government. But we must remain ever vigilant. Foreign interference and espionage we shouldn't be surprised is of course, one of the new forms of warfare that we really need to be careful of.
NATALIE BARR: Okay. Moving on. Okay, moving on major reforms to Medicare begin today, which will see GP’s who bulk bill have their incentive tripled. It's designed to help them maintain services for children and concession cardholders, some major lobby groups say they still need more. Clare,what more can the government do?
CLARE O'NEIL: Well, net this is a huge day today, where the Australian government's commitment to tripling the bulk billing incentive will take place. What this means is that more Australians are going to be able to get access to the doctor at those affordable bulk build rates. And this is coming after a decade of the former government just everyday trying to degrade and attack Medicare. We've got a government and a prime minister that's giving this system the love and attention that it deserves. Now, you asked about other things that need to be done. Remember that we've just had a budget that's dramatically helped Australians with the cost of medicines, which has been another really big problem for my constituents. We're trying to do everything we can to support Australians with accessible and affordable health care, especially now while we're going through such difficult times with the cost of living crisis.
NATALIE BARR: During the AMA. The Australian Medical Association welcomes this they do say more needs to be done. They also say they were lobbying the Coalition government for this for a long time.
JANE HUME: Well, in fact, the Labor government came to power say that they were going to deliver easier and cheaper access to doctors. And in fact, we've seen the exact opposite. The bulk billing rate has in fact, decreased every single month since Labor was in power. It was up to a record level of 89% under the previous Coalition government now it's down just around the 80% mark. And the big concern with this is it's an incentive, it's not a guarantee. And in fact, experts out there today saying that this incentive for GP's isn't a guarantee for anybody that they will get more access to bulk billing from their GP's. That's a real concern. So I'd like to see exactly what the milestones are what guarantee is there clear that Australians are going to get better access to their GP's from this change.
NATALIE BARR: The AMA, the doctors are welcoming it though. Clare, can you answer Jane's question?
CLARE O'NEIL: I wouldn't take a word of advice from the Coalition or from Jane about our healthcare system. I mean, we just lived through a decade where the Coalition attacked Medicare. Peter Dutton, who's now the leader of the Opposition,-
JANE HUME: That's nonsense Clare.
CLARE O'NEIL: -tried to change Medicare so you had to pay every time you went to the doctor, and I would just say, look, we've got a government in power here that cares passionately about a system Labor created Medicare, we will protect it every day that we are in office. We are trying to build up what has been of neglect of this system-
JANE HUME: And yet it's harder and harder and harder to get to a doctor.
CLARE O'NEIL: Today is a really, really important day. Today's a really important day because it's a day when more Australians are going to get access to more quality, affordable health care that they deserve. And that's something I'm very proud government's been able to deliver.
NATALIE BARR: Okay, we'll leave it there. Thank you both. You both had your say we'll see you next week.