News location:

Canberra Today 6°/9° | Wednesday, May 1, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Barr urged to listen to GPs as prices rise

CHIEF Minister Andrew Barr and his Labor-Greens government need to listen to local GPs and exempt general practice from the new payroll tax that applies to contractor GPs, says Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee.

It’s happening… Garema Place Surgery is lifting prices by $5 from Monday because of the GP tax.

“Local GPs have made it very clear that they will have no option but to raise their fees as a result of this tax with some even concerned they may not be able to keep their doors open,” Lee said.

“Canberra already has the lowest number of GPs per capita in the country and losing any of our existing GPs will place even more pressure on our failing hospital system.

“Instead of listening to the pleas of our hardworking GPs, Andrew Barr has accused them of making ‘wild accusations’ to try to ‘minimise tax’ and chastised them for a ‘lack of ambition in relation to bulk billing’.”

Ms Lee reiterated that if elected in October 2024, the Canberra Liberals will abolish this tax to ensure local GPs can continue delivering high-quality essential healthcare to all Canberrans.”

 

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Share this

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews