Labor’s Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen have both been caught out misleading the Australian public.
During an Adelaide radio interview today the Leader of the Opposition stated Labor only provided Medicare licences for MRI’s to public hospitals when in office.
ALP Claim:
~31 July 2019 – ALBANESE… “when Labor was in office that decisions were made as well, under the same process. The difference is, that Labor awarded these licences to hospitals, to public hospitals, that went through processes. So, people weren’t making a profit.”
Fact:
Labor awarded over 130 private providers with Medicare licences for MRI’s in 2012 alone.
Indeed more than two thirds of the allocation on 1 November 2012 was to private providers.
Chris Bowen claimed in a press release, Minister for Health Greg Hunt did not acknowledge Ministerial sign off in the House of Representatives, when in fact he did the day before.
ALP claim
~31 July 2019 – BOWEN… Why did the Minister yesterday claim that the granting of an MRI Medicare Licence to Sound Radiology “was done through an independent process,” when in fact they were signed off in his Ministerial office?
Fact
On 30 July 2019 – MINISTER HUNT… “we received submissions from the department and, as is the case with submissions—they are signed off in the Ministerial office. I would note – yes exactly by the Minister.” Curiously these words were airbrushed from Mr Bowen’s statement.
“each application was assessed by the department against the mandatory and substantive criteria outlined in the ITA documentation, and all MRI licences allocated under the expansion round met the department’s criteria.”
Adding further embarrassment to Labor, Mr Bowen misled the House today and said at the most recent election, Labor only promised licences to public hospitals.
ALP claim
~31 July 2019 – BOWEN…The Labor Party went to the election with a commitment for Medicare Licences for MRI’s, an extra 20 MRI Licences, and every single one of those commitments was for a public hospital.
Fact
A quick scan of Labor’s pre-election commitments show an MRI licence being allocated to a private company run by Dr Jones and Partners in Mt Barker.
The truth is, Labor has been caught out in three deplorable lies only today.