A joke about supplements for middle aged men has caused chaos in parliament as the entire chamber erupted into laughter.
Health Minister Mark Butler was spruiking the government’s plan to slash the cost of medicine in Question Time on Wednesday.
He mentioned the visit he and 비아센터 후기 Prime Minister made to Capital Pharmacy in Kingston, close to Parliament House in Canberra, that morning.
‘A terrific pharmacy run by Sandra, and the prime minister and I were able to stock up on some of the items and [things] that middle-aged men like us need to get going every day,’ he said.
Rancorous laughter erupted from the whole House of Representatives before Opposition Leader Peter Dutton stood up to keep the joke going.
‘I want to give our support to hear more detail about what the minister is speaking about, what colour the tablets are, the frequency in which you take them.Happy to hear the details,’ he said.
Mr Butler was asked by Speaker Milton Dick to get back on topic and shot back that he was ‘happy to have a private meeting with the leader of the opposition. Seriously.’
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Health Minister Mark Butler made the joke as he was spruiking the government’s plan to slash the cost of medicine in Question Time on Wednesday
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton stood up to keep the joke going, asking Mr Butler ‘what colour the tablets are, the frequency in which you take them’
The government on Wednesday morning proposed new laws to lower co-payments for medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
If passed by parliament, it would be the first time in the scheme’s 75-year history the maximum cost of scripts would fall.
Mr Butler introduced the proposal to parliament on Wednesday to lower the maximum co-payment under the scheme from $42.50 to $30 per prescription.
‘Costs of living are soaring and many Australians are cutting back on essentials just to make ends meet,’ he told parliament.
‘This bill will help ease the squeeze on household budgets for millions of Australians.’
The changes mean someone taking one medication a month could save as much as $150 every year, or for two or three medications as much as $300 to $450 a year.
Mr Butler (right) and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Capital Pharmacy in Kingston, close to Parliament House in Canberra, that morning
Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey said making prescriptions more affordable would help reduce the likelihood of people taking less medicine than prescribed or not having their prescription filled at all.
‘Community pharmacists have increasingly been hearing patients say they simply cannot afford their medicines, often faced with deciding who in the family will go without in order to put food on the table or pay their bills,’ he said.
‘In addition to increasing the universality of the access to medicines, this is a big step in addressing cost-of-living pressures.’
It’s expected nearly $200 million in out-of-pocket costs will be saved under the measure per year.
The proposal was a Labor election promise with the changes to be implemented from January 2023.
