CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH: The latest revelations about Greg Hunt's administration of the health portfolio are deeply concerning. Last night it was revealed that Minister Hunt had asked the Therapeutic Goods Administration to review the banning of a DIY flu test. It just so happens that the Chair of the company has donated around $600,000 to the Liberal National Parties. Greg Hunt has some very serious explaining to do.

The context is important here. The TGA is an independent body. It must be independent and be seen to be independent. The TGA determines whether goods, whether treatments, medicines and other goods are safe for use by Australians. This is incredibly important. And the TGA must always be allowed to operate free of any political interference whatsoever. Regardless of who is in Government regardless of who the Minister is the TGA must be completely independent.

This Minister has trashed that independence by seeking the TGA to review a decision to ban a product by a company which just happens to have close links to his political party. This is part of a pattern of behaviour by Greg Hunt. We've seen already that he issued an MRI licence to a company for whom the CEO happened to be Vice President of the Liberal Party. Another MRI in Western Australia happens to coincide with donations to the Liberal National Party. Health portfolio is not an opportunity for Greg Hunt to distribute confetti to his friends and supporters. It is an important portfolio in the government of the day.

Now Greg Hunt says he has an alibi. He says the TGA asked him for this referral to ask them to reverse one of their own decisions. If that's the case I invite him to release all correspondence, all communications between him and the TGA, and him and the company in question and the senior people in the company in question. If he has nothing to hide, there's nothing to fear. But this stinks. This stinks. Just by looking at it, it's quite clear that Greg Hunt has some very, very serious questions to answer. And if he's fair dinkum he'll answer them today. Scott Morrison needs to start to think about the future of this beleaguered minister.

JOURNALIST: Is it more pertinent now than ever that we see a federal body like ICAC.

BOWEN: I think it is. I think it is and that's why Labor in the lead up to the last election led the way. And called for a federal ICAC and announced that a Labor Government would institute a federal ICAC. Scott Morrison followed us kicking and screaming and there's been plenty of criticism of the model which he has embraced but he shouldn't be getting on with the job. We need a federal ICAC as a matter of some priority.

JOURNALIST: This truly wouldn't pass the pub test would it?

BOWEN: It stinks. It would not pass the pub test. And even the more so because it's part of a pattern of behaviour by this Minister. Now as I said at the outset, this isn't some small trifling matter. Australians have got to have confidence in the TGA. I think by and large Australians do have confidence in the TGA. They just assume that there's an independent body free of political interference determining what treatments are safe and unsafe. And they've been right. But Greg Hunt seeking to insert himself and admitting that he inserted himself by asking the TGA to review a decision brings into question not the independence of the TGA. I'm not questioning that. I'm bringing into question the Minister's actions in seeking to get the TGA to review a decision.

JOURNALIST: Speaking of independence of organisations as such, yesterday the Medical Technology Association of Australia released a report regarding the price of technology and the private health sector has come out essentially calling the APRA statistics fraudulent.

BOWEN: Well in relation to the issue in general, the private health insurance model is under huge pressure. I think almost every Australian knows that apart from Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt. There's been a series of reports around private health insurance just this week.

We've had the APRA data, we had another report out yesterday by Alpha Beta consultants. Now regardless of whether you agree with every bit of analysis and all the reports, quite clearly Australians are voting with their feet when it comes to private health insurer. And private health insurers need to look very closely at the products they are providing and the value for money that is being provided and there is a government subsidy here. So the taxpayer has a key stake in the question going forward. That's why Labor proposed a Productivity Commission inquiry into private health insurance in its entirety, the entire system. And we would welcome the Government now doing that. Now Greg Hunt previously said his reforms had worked, there was nothing to see here. A couple of weeks ago he said he had further plans but he hasn't announced what they are. Yesterday he seemed to go back to there's nothing to see here it's all fixed. Well it's not all fixed and Australians know it.

JOURNALIST: In relation to that report we've seen that medical technology prices have dropped by up to 13 per cent and health insurance prices have gone up since they've been instigated 150 per cent to the point where they're making up to $200 million in profit and they're still blaming medical technology as the reason for private health insurance premiums going up.

BOWEN: Well the figures you quote are accurate. And that of course is up to the private health insurance industry to justify to its members its behaviour but we would also say it's up to the Government to justify their lack of policy action. And I freely acknowledge that these are complicated issues. And there's no single solution. Hence the need for a thorough review and I would suggest the Productivity Commission, an independent policy making or policy advisory group from Government would be well placed to go.

JOURNALIST: What about more regulation on a body that's making such huge profits year on year?

BOWEN: Well that's the sort of thing that would have to be considered by a thorough inquiry.

Okay, all done. Cheers. Thanks for coming out.