Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) | Hansard source

Exactly! Can't get a question; can't stay to hear his MPI. The member for Deakin might be pleased to know that his constituents saved some $76,000 in that period. I encourage him to go out there and to recognise and acknowledge the doctors that have moved back to bulk-billing or mixed billing in response to the government's policy change. If not, I'm happy to go and do it for him.

I am delighted to properly acknowledge and recognise every GP around Australia who has responded to a government which genuinely values their time, their skills and their expertise by bulk-billing or mixed billing again. In my electorate of Dobell, our bulk-billing rate has risen by 5.5 per cent in just two months—5.5 per cent. And do you know who benefits most? Aged pensioners, families with young children, people on low and fixed incomes—those who need it most. That's what Labor governments do.

This is a targeted cost-of-living relief for people under pressure which doesn't put pressure on inflation but makes a real difference to the weekly household budget in every community right around the country. It represents a major strengthening of Medicare from the only party who will truly fight for every Australian's right to quality health care. Before Medicare was introduced, the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in Australia was unpaid healthcare bills. That was the leading cause. It's still the case in the United States, despite Obamacare. One in seven Australians didn't have any health cover. That shows you why it's so important to rescue and revive Medicare, and we're doing that by tripling the bulk-billing incentive. It represents a major strengthening of Medicare and genuine universal access for all Australians, wherever they live.

In finishing, in addition to 360,000 bulk-billed GP appointments, Australian people have also benefited through more than 160,000 presentations to Medicare urgent-care clinics. Just recently, the Prime Minister joined the member for Robertson, Doctor Reid, and I at the urgent-care clinic in Umina, where more than 1,200 patients benefited in the weeks it had been open. This is cost-of-living relief.

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