Sussan Ley won't 'waste time' trying to get $1bn budget cuts through Senate

‘I am not going to waste time putting things through the parliament that are going to be voted down by my colleagues,’ says health minister

Sussan Ley has conceded the government does not have the support to get its $1bn budget savings measure on subsidised medicine through the Senate.

The health minister backed away from a suite of measures relating to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, including the proposal to charge general patients a $5 co-payment for scripts and to increase the amount patients must spend on medicines before being eligible to get them free or cheaper.

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