JAMES GLENDAY:
Well, the holiday season is upon us, and as the year winds down, there's concern that scammers are ramping up efforts to target unsuspecting consumers, with the Federal Government urging Australians to be on alert. Joining me now is the Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones, who has been on something of a crusade against scams. Stephen, we've seen a big spike in this sort of activity over the past year or so. Given what's happened with Optus, Medibank, are you worried that Australians might be more vulnerable this Christmas than they have been before?
STEPHEN JONES:
Look, we are. The ACCC has told us that last year there was about $2 billion worth of scams. They expect that to double this year and there's always a spike over Christmas time. So some things to look out for, fake websites allegedly selling toys that don't exist, delivery scams, which we saw during the pandemic. Click a link on your SMS to get information on where your parcel is going to be delivered to. You never ordered the parcel, and of course, if you click the link, they get access to information on your phone. We're seeing regifting scams. We've all heard about regifting, but this one is where allegedly, the scammers are pretending to sell unwanted gifts at cut prices, ridiculously low prices. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. And puppy scams and the hi mum scams are also out there in the field as well. So the Government wants to have people just to be aware that these things are likely to ramp up over the Christmas period and to take extra care.
GLENDAY:
Okay, on another issue, Stephen, there's a report out today on Medicare from the Grattan Institute. It effectively calls for an overhaul of the way doctors' visits are funded. Do you have concerns about Medicare at the moment and the payment system?
JONES:
Look, every MP in the country, in fact, every household in the country if I could put it that way, more appropriately, has seen it harder and harder to get access to bulk billing, difficulty in getting access to GPS in particular, and the big gap between what they're being charged and what they're getting back from Medicare. So, yeah, there is an issue in the system, there's no doubt about it. It's why Health Minister Mark Butler is in one of his first acts is reviewing the operation of Medicare. In the meantime, some initiatives already being rolled out as a part of our election commitments, including our urgent care clinics around the country. So, yes, we are aware there's an issue. Of course, when the Grattan Institute publishes a report, we always take it seriously and look at what they're recommending.
GLENDAY:
On another topic, the Australian election study is out today. It confirms what we've probably all long known that Australians are less rusted on to the major parties. How does Labor, your party, grapple with that? Does it just mean that you can't take a safe seat, perhaps like your safe seat for granted anymore?
JONES:
Never thought my seat was a safe seat, and I don't take it for granted. Anyone that does finds themselves with the word ex‑MP in front of their name. And I think the last ten years in Australian politics has made it quite clear that the tide comes in, the tide comes out, there are significant shifts. And you can't take a voter's traditional allegiances for granted. The Liberals were the ones who got this lesson ramped home to them in the last election, with them leaving losing seats that they took for granted. People who no longer wanted to have their traditional political party just assume their views around sexuality, around climate change, around economic management, around just truth and honesty in politics. And they were punished for it, of course. Labor has also seen over the past decade a challenge in its seat. So I think the message is you can't take anyone for granted and we don't.
GLENDAY:
All right, Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones. Thank you so much for joining News Breakfast.
JONES:
Good to be with you, James.