Carol Berry (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to highlight the ways in which the Albanese Labor government is strengthening Medicare in my electorate of Whitlam and also across the country. Our legislation to make cheaper medicines even cheaper cuts more than 20 per cent from the maximum cost of PBS medicines, and this will save Australians over $200 million each year. This builds on other actions taken by this government over the past three years to deliver cost-of-living relief through cheaper medicines. I'm proud to report that, since winning government in 2022, Labor's cheaper medicines initiatives have saved the people in the Whitlam electorate a substantial $12.6 million.

The people of Whitlam are also benefiting from Labor's Medicare urgent care clinics, which are open for extended hours seven days a week with no appointment needed. Importantly, all patients at these urgent care clinics are fully bulk-billed, which means they receive care for free. A Medicare urgent care clinic opened in Dapto last year, and last week we launched the tender process for a second urgent care clinic in Whitlam, in Shellharbour. So far, 90 Medicare urgent care clinics have opened across Australia, with more than 1.8 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023. The success of these clinics is taking pressure off our hospitals, which means hospital staff can spend more time on life-threatening emergencies. I'm proud to serve in this government, which is making the largest investment in Medicare since it was created four decades ago, and this includes delivering cheaper medicines and more urgent care clinics.

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