Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It does not surprise me one iota that the member for Dawson does not support Medicare. It does not surprise me one iota that the member for Dawson does not support the bulk-billing investment that this government is doing, because this is a member opposite who is part of a coalition and a party who, when in government, tried to introduce a co-payment. What is a co-payment? A co-payment is the death of Medicare. Not only that, the member for Dawson is part of a coalition who, when in government, cut billions of dollars from health funding that people rely on each and every day to make sure that they can get better.

In contrast, this is a Labor government that is investing in health and investing in the people who need it most when they get sick, the people who need it most when someone falls down and breaks their arm and the people who need it most when a devastating diagnosis comes back. That's why we've invested in urgent care clinics. That's why we've invested in women's health. That's why we've invested in cheaper medicines. That's why we've invested in bulk-billing. And what we know already is that hundreds of GP practices have signed up. It's for our communities, for Australians and for people from my community and that of the member for Lyons. It doesn't matter where you are in this country. What they need is bulk-billing, and that is what Labor is delivering.

Medicare had its 40th birthday last year, and it was well worth celebrating 40 years of low- or no-cost health services for Australians, no matter where they lived or how much they earned. Labor is the party of Medicare. We invented it. We don't leave it to rest idle. We invest in it, support it and make it better. It's part of who we are as a party and part of who we are as a government. And now, at 41, Medicare is going from strength to strength. This is thanks to a Labor government that's committed to the belief that, when you need medical assistance, you deserve to receive high-quality health care quickly, without breaking the bank. In 2023, Labor tripled the bulk-billing incentive for people who need to see their GP most often—for pensioners, for concession cardholders and for families with children. This drove the turnaround of bulk billing, enabling an additional 6.5 million bulk-billed GP visits, with an additional 1.2 million in Queensland alone.

Last Saturday was 1 November, and it was another important day in the history of Medicare and in the history of our health system. For the first time, bulk-billing incentives will be paid to GPs for every patient they bulk bill, not just the group I mentioned. What does this mean? This incentive represents the single largest investment in Medicare ever. It equates to 18 million additional bulk-billed visits per year. That is something that makes a difference. It makes a difference whether you are an old Australian, whether you have a brand-new baby that you want to go to an urgent care clinic, whether you are someone who is sick, or whether you are someone who has an injury. It means that, by 2030, nine out of 10 visits will be bulk-billed in this country, and that is something to celebrate. It's something to celebrate because this is a government that doesn't just talk about our investment in health care, doesn't just say that will do something; it delivers. When we deliver, we make it real and we make it happen, and that's what we've seen with bulk-billed services today, that's what we've seen with urgent care clinics, that's what we are seeing with our Medicare mental health clinics, that's what we are seeing with new endo and pelvic pain clinics, that's what we are seeing with cheaper medicines, and that's what we are seeing across the whole of our health sector, because Australians deserve accessible and affordable care every day, and Labor delivers that.

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