By Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods Wednesday 29 October 2014
Photo: It's an election ritual that Labor vows to defend Medicare and Liberals promise not to touch it. (ABC News)
When Gough Whitlam brought in Medibank he didn't just introduce free health care, he shifted the whole debate on health - which is now haunting the Coalition's $7 Medicare co-payment, write Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods.
Political insiders have generated acres of commentary on the Whitlam legacy this past week, but those who never shared the corridors with Gough are more united in their assessment of his greatest gift to the nation: free public health.
Looking back 40 years, the vast majority of Australians see Medibank - the universal public health insurance scheme that saw Australians receive free care in public hospitals for the first time - as his government's crowning achievement.
It might seem a no-brainer to voters today, but Whitlam faced the same kind of division and discord over his "socialist" healthcare policy that we see play out in the US with its modest attempts to weaken the grip of the predatory health insurance industry.
Medibank was largely dismantled by the Fraser government, but the momentum towards a fairer healthcare system was on and the scheme was restored as Medicare by the Hawke government in the early 1980s.
Since then it's been a ritual of all federal election campaigns that Labor vows to defend Medicare and Liberals promise not to touch it.
After all, Liberal voters like Whitlam's health legacy too.
This could explain some of the heightened angst around the marooned Hockey federal budget, anchored with the $7 Medicare co-payment, which is loathed by voters and struggling to find friends in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Government this week embarked on the privatisation of Medibank Private, the fund established by Whitlam to ensure competition in the health funds that would underpin the public health system.
Like all privatisations, the public are dubious about the float of Medibank Private. Our polling over many years shows entrenched opposition to the sale of public assets.
And while the Government spruiks a multi-billion dollar market capitalisation and opportunities for "mum and dad" investors, there is a strong public view that privatisations invariably benefit corporate interests over taxpayers. In the case of Medibank Private, voters think the sell-off will put upward pressure on health insurance fees.
Health consistently rates a top vote-changing issue - a narrow second only to the ubiquitous "economic management". It is also an issue where Labor carries a significant brand advantage.
Perhaps this is Gough's greatest legacy to his party, establishing a vision for health that not only endures today but has hands-down won the public debate.
With Medibank, Gough didn't just introduce free health care for the first time - he shifted the whole debate on health.
Universal healthcare has travelled the long road from being seen as a tool of socialism to a bedrock of the kind of nation Australians want.
And while it's true that free health care, like many Whitlam reforms, is under pressure - the public outcry and deferral of the Government's $7 co-payment legislation due to lack of support in the Senate shows Australians aren't willing to give it up without a fight.
The survey was conducted online from October 24-27, 2014 and is based on 1011 respondents.
Peter Lewis is a director of Essential Media Communications. View his full profile here. Jackie Woods is a communications consultant at Essential Media Communications. View her full profile here.
The ghost of Gough haunts $7 co-payment - The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
