Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher

ROSS SOLLY, HOST: So, the Federal Government has unveiled its new plan today to bring more bulk billing centres here to the ACT. They’re hoping to build three new bulk billed GP clinics. Senator Katy Gallagher is, of course, the local member and joins us this morning. Senator Gallagher, good morning to you. 

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Good morning, Ross. 

SOLLY: Good to have you on the show. Look, before we talk about the bulk billing clinics, can I just get your thoughts on – and obviously, it’s your government that’s recognising Palestine. We are running the risk here, well we have, alienated the United States on this. Obviously, Israel. Is that a price we’re prepared to pay?

GALLAGHER: Well, Australia makes its decisions in our national interest. We are a sovereign country, and the world has been waiting for a negotiated outcome for 77 years. We’re seeing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. You know, if not now, then when? This brings a practical step towards recognition-

SOLLY: Well, maybe when they hand back the hostages, when they have elections-

GALLAGHER: Well, we’ve made that clear, Ross. I mean, we have made that – we have sought conditions from the Palestinian Authority, and we want to see peace come to the Middle East. We've been very clear about that. We want the hostages released. We want the killing to stop. We want aid to get through. But this is Australia standing with a number of other countries saying that enough is enough, we want peace, and something has to happen to change what's happening over in the Middle East.

SOLLY: Is now the time to get on the wrong side of Donald Trump and the Americans? I mean, we've seen in recent days how he responds to anybody who gets on his wrong side. Is this a good time to be, to be really annoying Donald Trump?

GALLAGHER: Well, as I said, we make these decisions based on our national interest. The fact that we would differ from time to time to other countries around the world, and positions they take, is nothing new. I don't think people would believe that we should wait or change the decision we were taking, because the Americans or the US Administration has a different view.

SOLLY: Even though we've seen that Donald Trump can strike back with tariffs, he can do all sorts of things to punish countries. But that's, that's the price we pay?

GALLAGHER: Well, as I said, we're a sovereign country and we make these decisions. The United States has a really important role to play in the Middle East. President Trump's been leaning in, seeking to secure a ceasefire. We support all of that, and we see America as having a very important role to contribute to the international momentum towards breaking the cycle of violence with a two-state solution. But that doesn't mean that – you know, at times we will have a different position to the United States.

SOLLY: Alright, 7:50AM on ABC Canberra Breakfast. If we can look closer to home, you're looking for expressions of interest for three new bulk billed GP clinics here in Canberra. How will this work? Who are we looking for to provide these clinics?

GALLAGHER: So that will go through an open tender process essentially. The Primary Health Network, so Capital Health Network, has opened that expression of interest. That will move to a formal application process down the track, but obviously the Capital Health Network want to test the market, see what's out there. So, over the next four weeks or so, the EOI process will be underway. This is part of our commitment Ross, in the election, if you recall, to invest $10.5 million to attract more GPs to Canberra with three new bulk billing centres, clinics, across the ACT.

SOLLY: So they would be new clinics, or could they be existing clinics who now want to embrace bulk billing?

GALLAGHER: Well, we want three additional clinics that bulk bill. So, I don't want to be too prescriptive about what that might look like, but we do want more, we want more GPs. We want some additionality here, we don't want our hard-working GPs, you know, to just be shouldering an additional load. And you've got to see this in conjunction with the work we're doing with a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, which will open in Woden soon, and Dave Smith's been leading the work there. And it'll work alongside, of course, all the nurse-led urgent care clinics or walk-in centres that we have across the ACT. But I think, at the end of the day Ross, this was, you know, you and I have been knocking around here for a while, and bulk billing has been a constant issue for the ACT Government and for the Commonwealth, and most importantly, for the citizens of Canberra, who at times when they need to visit a doctor, want some choice. Whether that's their family doctor or whether they're able to see a doctor that bulk bills – acknowledging that family doctors bulk bill as well, I don’t want to suggest otherwise. 

SOLLY: So, you're right, we have been talking about this for a long time. So why will things change now? Just because you're asking for expressions of interest, what are the incentives? Why would anyone want to do this if they haven't done it already?

GALLAGHER: Well, we're providing $10.5 million, so there's an incentive, in order to secure these new clinics, and we are seeing-

SOLLY: So there will be $10.5 million per clinic?

GALLAGHER: No, that’s the total commitment. That's the total commitment, and that includes-

SOLLY: And how can that money be spent? What, well how do they, how do they-

GALLAGHER: Well, that’s essentially seed funding, right? It's not ongoing funding, it's one-off funding. So that would help with, you know, establishment costs, for example. You know, that will be worked out through the formal tender process. But we have provided, we've put on the table $10.5 million and we're saying to the market, we'd like three bulk billing clinics with additional GPs coming to operate in the ACT. We have seen this operate, or this incentive operate, in other places around Australia, and it works. So, we know that there are businesses who are able to provide these clinics. Now we need to see, we're testing essentially over the next month, what the appetite is from those providers, and including existing providers here, to operate these clinics.

SOLLY: And are there any conditions attached to where they have to be located, or is that just wherever people want to put them?

GALLAGHER: Well, we would like them to be across the ACT, you know? So, I think a spread of them – we don't want them all in one place, that wouldn't make sense. So, I would think a logical spread across the ACT would be in, you know, the provider's interest, if they were expressing interest in that.

SOLLY: And is there a condition that all of the patients will need to be bulk billed? I mean, they can't pick and choose and just provide bulk billing for kids or teenagers or whatever? It has to be everybody?

GALLAGHER: Yeah, so it would be 100 per cent bulk billed. And this works in conjunction, obviously, with the huge investment that we're making to triple the bulk billing rate. And I think that's what's really tipping the scales in terms of making this a real opportunity for businesses, for medical practitioners, to come and provide this service. So, we're not only providing the seed funding, we're also, for bulk billing clinics, there's an incentive payment for clinics that bulk bill 100 per cent, and on top of that there's the tripling of the bulk billing rate, which comes in in November. So, there's a range of our measures at play here which would support this type of model coming to the ACT and being viable. 

SOLLY: Alright. One other quick issue before I let you go, Senator. On the weekend, and I can't believe in 2025 that this could happen, in fact I can't believe it would ever happen. But Optus’ 000 shut down, possibly cost lives on the weekend. I mean, what should be the repercussions for Optus for this, do you think?

GALLAGHER: Yeah, well, I think I'm like everyone else who's been reading the story over the weekend and just scratching our head at how on earth this could happen again, considering what happened a couple of years ago to Optus. The work that was done to prevent that from happening again. So, obviously, there needs to be a very thorough, independent investigation. You know, the regulator will be looking at this. I saw the Minister out on the weekend furious at hearing about what had happened, and even some of the delays in being notified about what was happening, and the fact that Optus, it didn't seem, to understand at the highest levels what on earth had happened over the weekend and I think that's deeply troubling.

SOLLY: And I notice in some media there's some attention given to the fact that apparently 95 per cent of their call centre operators are based overseas. Now I'm not saying for one moment that this has contributed to this situation, but is this something that we need to look at now?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think, you know, businesses need to make these decisions in their business’ interests. And you know, they'll obviously, Optus have suffered a massive reputational damage over the weekend with this story, and I would think it's in their interest to be looking at every aspect of their business and looking at how it operates, and how they can genuinely come out to the Australian people and say that they offer a safe service to their customers. And at the moment, I think they've got a lot of work to do. 

SOLLY: Alright, I’m going to leave you with this text, Katy Gallagher. You don't need to respond, but just a simple ‘hmm’ might be enough. 

[Reads text message] 

Senator Katy Gallagher, thank you for your time this morning.

GALLAGHER: Thanks Ross.