Dutton tries to neutralise health issue by saying, ‘we’ll do just what Labor does’

Peter Dutton has launched a game of one-upmanship after Anthony Albanese at the weekend unveiled Labor’s $8.5 billion health policy that promises near universal bulk billing for GP visits by 2030.

Dutton wants to neutralise health as an election battleground. So he immediately pledged to match the Albanese policy. He’s included another $500 million, from an already announced Coalition policy for mental health, so he can get to the bigger number of $9 billion.

What’s more, the Opposition leader said the government should legislate the health plan before the election. There are two issues with that call.

On the present parliamentary sitting timetable, legislation could in theory be passed in budget week, which is set to start March 25. But, as everyone who’s paying attention knows, the current speculation is there probably won’t be a budget, with many players and observers anticipating Albanese will soon announce an April election.

Secondly, however, legislation is not needed. The changes can be made by regulation.

The Coalition decision to take over the Labor health policy holus bolus may be tactically smart – time will tell. Fixing up bulk billing will be popular; the opposition knows it would be on risky ground getting into an argument about it, even on detail.

But just adopting such a big Labor policy, within hours of seeing it, without further thought or strutiny, raises questions about the Coalition’s policy rigour.

Doesn’t it have a few ideas of its own? Labor’s policy, while welcomed, has already come under some criticisms. For instance, there are suggestions it might be harder to address the bulk billing issue in certain areas than in others, so maybe the claims for the policy are too sweeping. And some experts would prefer greater attention on more fundamental reforms to Medicare.

In strict policy terms, as distinct from political expediency, the Coalition’s approach just seems lazy. Shadow health minister Anne Ruston is said to have been out and about with stakeholders – did she come to exactly the same policy conclusions as Labor? Presumably, given the policy’s expense, a Coalition government would not be able to spend more on other health initiatives, which restricts its scope to do further or different things.

On the fiscal side, Dutton is looking for general spending cuts but says there will be no cuts in health. “The Coalition always manages the economy more effectively and that’s why we can afford to invest in health and education,” he said on Sunday.

Can we believe in this “no cuts” line? The government points back to Tony Abbott’s time when similar promises were made and the reality didn’t match the rhetoric. Dutton was health minister then and the government tried to introduce a Medicare co-payment. That attempt fizzled in face of opposition, but some voters might think that a Coalition that puts on Labor’s clothes so readily might shed some of them when in office, pleading the weather was hotter than it expected. That’s especially possible when it is a policy that stretches out several years, as this one does.

Certainly Labor has already been homing in on Dutton’s record from more than a decade ago.

None of this alters the fact that something needs to be done to boost bulk billing, which has now fallen to about 78% of GP visits. The govenrment’s disputes the opposition’s figure that it reached 88% under the Coalition but indisputably, it has certainly tumbled from where it once was.

The question now is, who will people trust more to fix it up?

Meanwhile, the government is still battling on all fronts to make its case heard in Washington for an exemption from the US tariffs on aluminium and steel.

In a flying trip at the start of this week Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be the first Australian minister to visit there since President Trump announced the tariffs.

The treasurer will have discussions with the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, whom he met (courtesy of ambassador Kevin Rudd) before the presidential election. So the talks will have the advantage of familiarity.

Chalmers on Sunday played down the prospect of any finality on tariffs coming out of his visit, which will also take in a conference of superannuation fund investors looking to put money into American businesses. The conference is being held at the Australian embassy.

If Australia eventually gets a favourable result on tariffs in the near term, the treasurer will be able to claim at least a tick for his efforts.