Labor’s Rushed PBS Changes Will Leave Regional and Rural Australians Worse Off

Regional Australians are set to be negatively impacted by Labor’s poorly thought through and rushed Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) policy, leader of The Nationals David Littleproud and Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox have warned.

Mr Littleproud and Mr Willcox travelled to LiveLife Pharmacy Cannonvale, to speak with local pharmacist Lee McLennan about the impact of Labor’s changes, which allows 60-day dispensing instead of 30.

“Unlike the Labor Government, we’ve been out listening to industry and speaking with pharmacists like Lee,” Mr Willcox said.

“Pharmacies are going to have to start stockpiling medication, a near-impossible task with the often-disrupted and unreliable supply chain. I’m urging the Prime Minister to do the same as Mr Littleproud and I, and talk with business, not bury his head in the sand.

“Here in the Whitsundays, and right around Dawson, industry is genuinely concerned regional and rural communities will miss out, where the financial burden on these small businesses will force many to reduce their opening hours and some to even shut up shop.

“The Albanese Government needs to start considering the regions in their policy changes – the Prime Minister clearly has no understanding we don’t have a pharmacy on every corner and we can’t just shop around like the people in the Prime Minister’s electorate.”

Mr Littleproud said Labor’s changes could have unintended but serious consequences.

“Rural and remote Australia is already facing a GP shortage after Labor changed the distribution priority areas, allowing GPs from overseas to work on the outskirts of cities,” Mr Littleproud said.

“Regional Australians rely on their pharmacy for their health.

“Labor’s changes put rural medicine supply shortages and country pharmacists at risk. If the local pharmacy goes, local communities have no primary care and no access to lifesaving drugs.”

Mr Littleproud and Mr Willcox have urged the Albanese Government to provide a guarantee the PBS policy change will not leave the 30 per cent of Australians living in rural and regional Australia worse off.