Radio interview with Minister Butler, ABC Radio Darwin – 20 March 2025

ADAM STEER, HOST: America's medical giants have launched intimidation tactics aimed at one of the pillars of our own health system. I am talking about our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, that is the scheme that allows you and I to access medical or medicines at an affordable level. The American medical giants have written to the US government arguing Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme undervalues American products. It's in an effort to encourage the Trump Administration to hit back against the Scheme with tariffs, and it's big news this morning as the Federal Labor Government has committed to reducing the price of PBS listed medicines to no more than $25 a script. Mark Butler is the Federal Health Minister, your guest this morning. How big of a test is this on the Prime Minister's leadership, Mark Butler, standing up to the big pharmaceutical companies overseas?
 
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE, MARK BUTLER: Your listeners should be very confident the Labor Party will always stand up for the PBS. We created it 75 years ago against very heated opposition. 20 years ago, when Big Pharma from the US tried to impact our PBS, when John Howard was negotiating the Free Trade Agreement with the Americans, the Labor Party insisted on amendments going through the Federal Parliament to protect the PBS, and we'll do that again. I want to make very clear the PBS, our ability to deliver the cheapest possible medicines to Australian patients is simply never going to be up for negotiation with another government, whether it's the US or any other country.
 
STEER: What is your reaction to the big pharmaceutical companies in the United States? They are major donors to the Trump Administration. What is your reaction when they try and dictate, as I said, what is a pillar of our own health system?
 
BUTLER: One of determination. I want to make it absolutely clear it's simply not up for negotiation from our point of view. It shouldn't be a surprise, I guess, that big Pharma want to sell their medicines at top dollar, but we want to make them cheaper. We're doing that again today, as you said in your intro, by again slashing the price of medicines. That will be the fifth instalment in cheaper medicines policies from our government in less than three years. A very clear message to your listeners, to the people of Australia, but also to those overseas. We see the PBS as a critical pillar to what we proudly think is one of the best healthcare systems on the planet. We're simply not going to negotiate around it.
 
STEER: So that's the big news that you have committed, if you get re-elected to reducing the price of PBS listed medicines to no more than $25 a script. The Coalition have instantly agreed to match the policy, just like they did when your Medicare package a few weeks ago. Does it annoy your party that they keep saying anything you can do, we can do?
 
BUTLER: Isn't imitation the ultimate sort of form of flattery? I think the key question is, whether you can trust them on it. I mean, Peter Dutton said before the 2013 election, when government changed that he'd make no cuts to health and the next budget, the next year, when he was the Health Minister, he tried to jack up the price of scripts by $5. If he'd got his way the maximum cost of a PBS script next year would be closer to $50 rather than the $25 that we are going to deliver. But we're focused on what we'll do as a Labor Party and on our record, a long record of 75 years, but particularly over the last 2 or 3 years, delivering already four instalments of cheaper medicines policies that have saved Australians more than $1.3 billion at the pharmacy counter. This one will add even more to those savings.
 
STEER: The Greens have said if we are to face a hung Parliament, they will be pushing you to go further, including dental in Medicare. Why don't we have that already? We know that dental health is so important to everybody's health. Why isn't it included in Medicare for everybody?
 
BUTLER: Yeah, we have to just go back to history, really. Gough Whitlam, when he introduced Medibank, which was the precursor, and then Hawke when he introduced Medicare in the early 80s, you've got to remember the depth of opposition he was facing. The Liberal Party opposed it tooth and nail. Doctors opposed it tooth and nail. They threatened to go out on strike against Medicare, particularly bulk billing as an element of Medicare. They were fighting on a whole range of fronts, and a decision was taken that they couldn't fight the dentists as well, who were also opposed to dental then going into Medicare. But you're right, the mouth is obviously part of the body and a pretty important part of your body at that. Good oral health is important not just for your mouth, but for a whole range of other systems. Our party would love to bring dental into Medicare at some stage. We've got that as part of our platform commitment. But I've also tried to be honest with people in saying that right now our focus is on strengthening the Medicare we currently have. Particularly, lifting bulk billing access for GP visits, as well as the cheaper medicines policies I've been talking about, not just today, but over the last few weeks.
 
STEER: Mark Butler, good to talk to you. Thank you so much for your time.
 
BUTLER: My pleasure.