One week on from the 2017 Federal Budget, some of the dust has settled on the announcements and we are in a position to assess whether there really was much new in the way of increased support for the sector.

What we know

In the lead up to Budget night, the Federal Government worked closely with both the RACGP and AMA to trade off an end to the Medicare freeze in exchange for ongoing support of the MyHealth Record system, reviews of the MBS and tightening access to after-hours claims. Both organisations have defended their negotiations with the Government, claiming that they are a first step towards increased recognition of the value of general practice care.

The good news is that the Turnbull Government has pledged $10 billion to healthcare including the withdrawal of the Medicare indexation freeze and the establishment of a Medicare Guarantee Fund to ensure longevity of health care and access to medicines. Some of this funding is for new programs and some is confirming allocations previously announced. All of the initiatives are yet to be passed, so depending on where we end up some initiatives may not get the green light.

The funding for these announcements will come from a proposed increase in the Medicare Levy by 0.5 per cent from July 2019 in a move that will cost workers on average earnings $400 a year.

A slow melting of the Medicare Freeze

The government announced that it would resume indexation for:

• GP bulk billing incentives from July 1, 2017,
• Standard GP and specialist consultations from July 1, 2018
• Specialist procedural and allied health from July 1 2019.

The budgeted cost of these changes in year one is just $9m, which is indicative of the slowness of the unfreezing measures. Indeed, even after July 2018, the rebate for a B level consult will increase by only around 55 cents. There is no evidence that the thawing will apply to services such as GP care plans.

With increasing bulk billing rates, there seems little pressure on the Government to allocate more funding towards the GP sector. The Government’s statement that they are “recognising and rewarding General Practitioners” seems somewhat hard to swallow.

 

(First published in Business First Magazine)

Tourism is on the rise in Australia against a backdrop of unease in other key tourism locations, and it’s shaping up to be a boom for the hospitality sector writes Steve Gagel, Director, Prosperity Advisers Group.

Fresh from a European holiday and close to the Nice attacks, I had a good opportunity to discuss holiday destinations with many locals in countries across Europe. The tension is palpable in the major cities. From the moment we stepped off a plane or train, we were met with multiple army personnel carrying machine guns and walking in formations up to six at a time. Understandably, citizens are nervous, and react to anything out of the ordinary in fear of another terrorist attack.

Europeans seem to be in awe of our watery boarders and in-the-main tend to like Australia’s “turn back the boats” policy. The Australian policy of not letting anyone in does disadvantage the many legitimate refugees trying to escape oppression and to make a better life from themselves, with some thinking it might keep out the extremists at the same time.

TOURISM ON THE UP
With the above in mind and the Australian dollar a long way under our previous highs of $1.10 to the US Dollar (currently A$ buying around US$0.76) there is effectively a 31% increase in buying power that international visitors now have in deciding to visit Australia.
Tourism Research Australia tells us there’s a healthy increase in total expenditure on international overnight visitors across all three eastern seaboard states – with the average for Australia up 17%. Perhaps the combined effects of safety and lower cost (due to the dollar dropping) is indeed creating more in-bound hospitality for Australia?

Domestically, it appears that Australians are turning their noses up at overseas destinations with domestic overnight spend increasing by 4.7% and domestic day trips also up by 4.6%. The scene is certainly set for growth among hospitality operators if they can leverage the current climate to their advantage.