Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says Territorians will benefit from cost of living relief, more bulk billing at the doctors and cheaper medicines in the Federal budget

Transcript

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says Territorians will benefit from cost of living relief, more bulk billing at the doctors and cheaper medicines in the Federal budget · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: I am going to have to go straight to our
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  Speaker 1: next interview. We'll have to try and manage the ads
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  Speaker 1: afterwards because joining us on the line right now to
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  Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about the federal budget is
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  Speaker 1: the Assistant Treasurer just be with me a moment. The
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  Speaker 1: Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, hey, big hello up to everyone
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  Speaker 2: there in the territory. I hope your morning's going well.
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  Speaker 1: Minister. We know that there were quite a number of
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  Speaker 1: cost of living measures that were announced overnight by the
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  Speaker 1: Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Can you talk us through what
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  Speaker 1: those will mean for northern Territorians.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, of course, look first and foremost attempting to do
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  Speaker 2: two things at once, balance the budget, get the finances
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  Speaker 2: back under control. But we know people right around the country,
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  Speaker 2: including in the territory, are doing it tough with inflation,
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  Speaker 2: cost of living increases on power bills. Ensuring that there
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  Speaker 2: is power bill relief up to five hundred dollars. This
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  Speaker 2: is a co sponsored or a co funded orgel between
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  Speaker 2: ourselves and the territory government to ensure that there is
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  Speaker 2: relief for power bills for low income households and small
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  Speaker 2: businesses in the territory. So that's one important thing. Ensuring
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  Speaker 2: that we can do everything we can to bring down
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  Speaker 2: the cost of interest repayments by ensuring we don't add
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  Speaker 2: to inflation repressures is absolutely critical as well critical as well.
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  Speaker 2: Big thing that people are talking to me right around
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  Speaker 2: the country is medicares get into a doctor, you can't
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  Speaker 2: get bulk billing. We want to take this on. So
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  Speaker 2: three billion dollar injection of funds, the biggest in my
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  Speaker 2: time in Parliament into bulk billing.
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  Speaker 1: And so what exactly will that change mean when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to bulk billing.
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  Speaker 2: What it means is that we have provided additional incentives
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  Speaker 2: for gps to offer bulk billing services to their patients. Again,
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  Speaker 2: how the majority of gps around the country had pulled
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  Speaker 2: out of doing billing gone to direct billing. We're increasing
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  Speaker 2: the subsidies, tripling the subsidies in fact, to ensure that
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  Speaker 2: they can afford they can and can afford to do it.
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  Speaker 2: Again important piece of our health reform.
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  Speaker 1: Well and hopefully that makes a huge difference in terms
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  Speaker 1: of people being able to get in to see the GP,
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  Speaker 1: being able to do so at a reasonable price. But
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  Speaker 1: also maybe even easing that pressure on the hospital system,
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  Speaker 1: because we know that up here in the territory there's
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  Speaker 1: been situations where people can't go to the doctor, they
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  Speaker 1: can't afford to and so they are presenting to the
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  Speaker 1: emergency department, which really isn't ideal your.
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  Speaker 2: Spot on, it's the least efficient way to deal with
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  Speaker 2: most of you common health issues. We want to remove
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  Speaker 2: that blockage as well. That's good for hospitals and good
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  Speaker 2: for GPS. It's been very well, very warmly welcomed by
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  Speaker 2: the GP colleges who represent doctors around the country. So
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  Speaker 2: it's just what is needed and we're very hopeful it's
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  Speaker 2: going to make a meaningful difference. And of course it's
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  Speaker 2: on top of the changes we've made to medicines as well,
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  Speaker 2: the sixty day prescription, which means people don't have to
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  Speaker 2: go in as often to the chemist to fill a prescription.
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  Speaker 2: That will literally cut the price of getting a prescription
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  Speaker 2: filled by fifty percent, and the thirty dollars cap on
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  Speaker 2: medicines that we've put in place as well, So you know,
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  Speaker 2: looking at things that we can do that aren't going
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  Speaker 2: to add to inflation, but we'll add make a meaningful
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  Speaker 2: difference to households and to families doing it tough.
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  Speaker 1: Now, there have been some announcements for the Northern territory specifically.
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  Speaker 1: Have you got much of that detail in front of you? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Mate, I knew you were going to ask me this,
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  Speaker 2: So I need Luke Wosling sitting in you don't forget
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  Speaker 2: to say this.
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  Speaker 1: Change that well, don't worry, we can chase him up
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  Speaker 1: if required.
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  Speaker 2: What I can say is that the territory will be
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  Speaker 2: a natural beneficiary of the things we're doing around infrastructure,
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  Speaker 2: particularly on the energy side of things. To be one
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  Speaker 2: thing that we want this first term of the Albanzy
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  Speaker 2: government to be remembered for. It's a massive investment into
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  Speaker 2: energy generation and storage and distribution because that's what's going
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  Speaker 2: to kickstart industry in the Northern Territory. So a big
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  Speaker 2: focus on that ship.
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  Speaker 1: Now, one of the other announcements it was made was
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  Speaker 1: around rent assistance. How exactly is that going to work?
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  Speaker 2: A fifteen percent boost to rent assistance. We know that
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  Speaker 2: rents have gone up and incomes have it's so the
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  Speaker 2: people are on social security benefits of fifteen percent increase
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  Speaker 2: in rent assistance. It is the one part of our
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  Speaker 2: housing package. We've got our Housing Australia Future Fund Bill.
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  Speaker 2: It's currently logjammed in the Senate. We're calling on the
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  Speaker 2: Coalition and the Greens and Cross benches to pass that bill.
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  Speaker 2: It'll make a meaningful difference, is the thing. We know.
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  Speaker 2: The long term solution in housing is building more houses.
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  Speaker 2: We don't have enough. We need to build more houses
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  Speaker 2: that'll bring downward pressure on prices and also make rerants
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  Speaker 2: more affordable. To do that, we need to get the
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  Speaker 2: Housing Fund passed through the Senate. So of that ten
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  Speaker 2: billion dollars worth of money we've put aside for building
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  Speaker 2: more houses can be unleashed.
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  Speaker 1: Now just onto an issue that has been bubbling along
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  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory for quite some time. I
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  Speaker 1: know that you would be aware of it. That is
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  Speaker 1: the issue of crime Alice Springs. In Alice Springs, we
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  Speaker 1: know that two hundred and fifty million dollars had been
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  Speaker 1: flagged by the Prime Minister earlier this year, but going
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  Speaker 1: through the announcement it looks as though there is ninety
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  Speaker 1: four million dollars that's been put into a contingency fund.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have any idea why that has happened?
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  Speaker 2: We need to get the programs worked out properly to
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  Speaker 2: ensure the money. There is no hesitation from the Commonwealth's
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  Speaker 2: point of view to ensure the money is allocated, but
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  Speaker 2: we want to ensure that the programs, that is, the
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  Speaker 2: things we're spending the money aren't on, are all stacked
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  Speaker 2: up and properly thought through and organized, and then the
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  Speaker 2: money can start to flow be course of the short
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  Speaker 2: period of time when the Prime Minister is up there
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  Speaker 2: and us putting the final touches on the budget. All
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  Speaker 2: of the details haven't been crossed off yet, but we're
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  Speaker 2: committed to doing it, and the commitments that the Prime
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  Speaker 2: Minister made and Linda Bernie made and our local MP's made,
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  Speaker 2: when they are up in our springs, they will be honored.
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  Speaker 2: We've just got to get the details of those programs
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  Speaker 2: sorted out so.
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  Speaker 1: By the sounds of it, that ninety four million dollars
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  Speaker 1: is going to be invested.
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  Speaker 2: It's available to be invested. We just need to work
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  Speaker 2: with the local community and the NT government to ensure
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  Speaker 2: that everything is squared away so the money can start plight.
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  Speaker 1: Does the federal government at this point in time have
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  Speaker 1: that trust in the Northern Territory government to be able
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  Speaker 1: to make sure that this money is delivered and invested
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  Speaker 1: in the areas that it needs to be because at
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  Speaker 1: the moment in the territory the community is losing faith.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we've got to work with our partners in the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory government. I know that the Chief Minister and
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  Speaker 2: his and ministers there are focused on the issues. We've
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  Speaker 2: got to work with local partners. And it's as simple
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  Speaker 2: as that. We've seen things go wrong when somebody in
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  Speaker 2: Canberra thinks, oh, this is what will work in the
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  Speaker 2: territory and we'll just do it without any local consultation,
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  Speaker 2: it inevitably fails, which is why we put a high price,
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  Speaker 2: high premium mind working with the Antique government and the
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  Speaker 2: local leaders in the Alice community in the case of
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  Speaker 2: our springs, but other communities where we're working there as well.
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  Speaker 1: Well. Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones,
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  Speaker 1: we are going to have to leave it there. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you very much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: My great pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you