The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
WEDNESDAY, 29 JULY 2026
SUBJECTS: New fully bulk billing GP clinic now open in Gungahlin; voluntary assisted dying; Voices of Belconnen and Gungahlin
ROSS SOLLY: Good news for people in Gungahlin this morning. A new fully bulk billing GP clinic is going to open today. Andrew Leigh is the local member, the Member for Fenner, and he joins us this morning. Andrew Leigh, good morning to you.
ANDREW LEIGH: Morning Ross, great to be with you.
ROSS SOLLY: Good to have you on the show as well. So, how many fully bulk billing GP clinics are there now in your electorate?
ANDREW LEIGH: Now in my electorate, we're up to seven, which is triple the number when we came to office. We're seeing fully bulk billing clinics opening right across the ACT, including these three which have been two directly funded by the Commonwealth Government in Tuggeranong, Woden Valley and Gungahlin. Labor built Medicare, and so Labor now wants to restore bulk billing to the ACT after a long period in which bulk billing rates were sliding under the former government.
ROSS SOLLY: So, is there any reason why anybody couldn't get access to a bulk billing GP anymore in your electorate, do you think?
ANDREW LEIGH: Well, now there's many popping up. According to the financials that we've got, it makes sense for more clinics to be shifting to bulk billing and I hope that more of those mixed billing clinics will make the shift. Bulk billing is important for people to be able to see a doctor and ensure that a small problem doesn't turn into a big one. Being able to see a bulk billing doctor can mean that you get on top of a sickness before you pass it on to others. That's good for the whole community.
ROSS SOLLY: One of the issues has been, Andrew Leigh, finding doctors who want to work in bulk billing clinics. And it's certainly been a problem here in the ACT. The new one that's opening up today, have you already got the doctors lined up? Do we have enough doctors to staff all the bulk billing clinics?
ANDREW LEIGH: We do indeed and this will be run by Infinity Medical. It's got a fully staffed practice in Gungahlin. It'll be opening another one, the location they'll disclose soon. But what we see as the Commonwealth Government is all of the financials for medical practices, and it's the firm view of the Health Minister and the Government that it makes financial sense for those doctors to make the shift. Not only are now the bulk billing incentives extended to all patients, but there's an extra practice incentive for practices that are fully bulk billing. And so all of those additional incentives mean it’s not only in the interest of the patients, but the doctors as well for practices to go fully bulk billing.
ROSS SOLLY: Alright. Just on another couple of issues while I have you here, Dr Leigh. The ALP conference last week in Adelaide, one of the topics that came out of there, one of the issues was using Telehealth for voluntary assisted dying. Are you in favour of it, and will you push for Anthony Albanese who seems to be a bit lukewarm on it, will you push for him to bring this to the floor of the reps? Because it's something which the ACT Government is very passionate about and they believe that a lot of people are missing out on the opportunity to get good advice using Telehealth. So first question, are you in favour of it?
ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah, I mean I've spoken to a range of people about this; Andrew Denton’s Go Gentle Australia and also advocates here in the ACT. I'm certainly comfortable with it. Probably the ACT is less affected than most jurisdictions since people would be able to see a doctor in person. I think that is typically the preference if someone is making a decision as big as voluntary assisted dying, that you would go and see someone in person just to make sure that those safeguards are around it. But for exceptional circumstances, I'm comfortable with it. In very remote circumstances, for example.
ROSS SOLLY: Do you think the majority of your colleagues are also in favour of it?
ANDREW LEIGH: Look, I haven't tested the temperature on it, Ross. I know that when the changes were made, they were made largely around cracking down on suicide chat rooms, which were not part of the voluntary assisted dying system and the Howard Government's changes at that point were very much focused on a different challenge. That was a point at which there was no voluntary assisted dying that was legal in any state or territory. Quite a different circumstance from what we've got now.
But in general, we do need to remember – I'm a strong supporter of voluntary assisted dying as you know, we do need to remember that the safeguards are an important part of maintaining community support for that and the safeguards need to be strong. You'd only need a few cases in which someone is seen to have been exploited to undermine community support for voluntary assisted dying. So, were Telehealth to come in I think it ought to be very much the exception.
ROSS SOLLY: Yeah. Will you, I mean, Anthony Albanese was a bit wishy washy on it on Sunday on Insiders. He doesn't support it and he also wasn't sort of jumping out of his skin to say, ‘Yes I'm going to bring this onto the floor ASAP’. Is it something you will push for, that you could push for, Andrew, to suggest, 'Hey, come on, let's get this done'?
ANDREW LEIGH: Look, it'll be a conscience vote if it comes to the floor and I've indicated to you the way in which I would vote on that, Ross. I don't see that we're immediately at the stage where we know what the framework would look like around this. Once we do get to that stage then I think it makes sense to remove that Howard-era prohibition. So long as you're sure that this is not going to be used as the standard practice, just the exceptional pathway for people in very remote areas.
ROSS SOLLY: All right, six minutes to eight. At the last federal election of course, we saw Voices of Bean almost kick out your colleague David Smith in that electorate. On the weekend, we learned that there are troops mustering for Voices of Belconnen and Gungahlin, Andrew Leigh. They're coming. I mean, you'd be grateful that they said that you're a nice bloke which is always nice to hear, but they're coming for you. Andrew Leigh, are you up for the challenge?
ANDREW LEIGH: Ross, I think it's wonderful when people get involved in our democracy. You know, I'm an Australian first and foremost and when people put their hands up to stand for office, I say good on them. Often I'll get in touch with political opponents to congratulate them for standing and wish them all the best. We need more people involved in our democracy…
ROSS SOLLY: So, you're encouraging Voices of Belconnen and Gungahlin to put a candidate forward?
ANDREW LEIGH: I'm encouraging anyone who wants to run for office to put their hands up whether that's for the ACT Assembly or for the federal Parliament. It's an incredible honour to represent your neighbours in the federal Parliament. I've never taken that for granted. I regard it as a privilege. I wake up every day feeling lucky to have the job. And certainly one of the great things about a democracy is people dive into the fray. One of the challenges we've got in Australia is there's too much kind of online shouting rather than direct involvement in politics. Direct involvement is just terrific.
ROSS SOLLY: What's your reading of the mood in Fenner, Andrew Leigh? Do you feel that there is a mood there for change? Are they wanting someone else to vote for? Do you feel that they could challenge you for the seat?
ANDREW LEIGH: Well, I was fortunate last election for the first time in my six elections to win on primaries. I think that reflected the Canberra community's strong sense that the Albanese Government was bringing forward a set of policies that were really good for Canberra. Strong support for the public service, good infrastructure spending for Canberra and this bulk billing boost we've talked about this morning. But any time people want to offer better ideas, I think they should be encouraged to do it, whether that’s…
ROSS SOLLY: It's going to make you step – you're going to have to step up, Andrew. I'm not suggesting you're having a bit of a dawdle, but they will force you to step up a little bit?
ANDREW LEIGH: I think politicians should always be challenged to do our best for the community, and that's one of the things the Albanese Government's been committed to. Strong support for tax reform, every Australian taxpayer got a tax cut on 1 July, we extended parental leave to six months. We're putting in place a whole lot of measures that are good for the community. But if people have better ideas, by all means come forward. If you want to run, go for it.
ROSS SOLLY: Righto. One quick question for you from a listener. The ACT Government's introduction of Nurse Walk-in centres has contributed to the closure of several nearby bulk billing GP practices. Are you, Dr Leigh, concerned that the expansion of government-funded bulk billing services could have unintended consequences for existing and long-operating small and independent bulk billing practices?
ANDREW LEIGH: No I'm not Ross. I think it will change the dynamic. I think it's going to see more fully bulk billing practices here in the ACT. We do have a lower bulk billing rate than you would expect, even given our income levels. Parts of Australia with similar incomes to Canberra have higher bulk billing rates. I think this is going to shift the norms, make it easier for people to see a doctor using just their Medicare card, not their credit card.
ROSS SOLLY: Alright. Dr Andrew Leigh, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
ANDREW LEIGH: Thank you Ross.
ROSS SOLLY: That's Dr Andrew Leigh, the Member for Fenner and also the Assistant Minister for Productivity Competition, Charities and Treasury.
ENDS