Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is delivering better access to affordable healthcare services across Melbourne's northern suburbs. On 1 November, our government rolled out the single largest investment in Medicare's history—an expansion of the bulk-billing incentive to all Australians so that more people, including people across all of the suburbs that I represent, can see a GP for free. This is an investment that will deliver an additional 18 million bulk-billed visits each year nationwide.

I visited the Epping Plaza Medical and Dental Centre, one of six clinics in my electorate that returned to full bulk-billing on 1 November, bringing the total number of fully bulk-billing clinics in the Scullin electorate to 13. I'm pleased to say the response right across my community has been incredibly positive, because people remember the threat of the GP tax. People remember the impact of the Medicare freezes, but, thanks to Labor's changes, all that people need in the Scullin electorate or right around Australia to access high-quality GP services is their Medicare card. The work that we've done to back in GP services complements the existing and fully bulk-billed Epping Medicare urgent care clinic, which saw over 14,000 presentations in its first year of operation, making a huge difference.

I also want to recognise the Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinic, which has been providing women right across Melbourne's northern suburbs access to a service that provides specialised care in a community that for too long was denied access to this kind of service. So I'm very grateful to my friend the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and Assistant Minister for Women, Rebecca White, who was at the Epping Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinic, where she announced an additional 11 endo and pelvic pain clinics to be rolled out across Australia, making a huge difference in those communities—the same difference, the same impact that I have seen in the northern suburbs. Australians in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and right around the country understand that Labor is the party of Medicare and only an Albanese Labor government can be trusted to strengthen it and the social compact that depends on access to healthcare.

I also want to recognise and thank women from right across the Scullin electorate for the really incredible response to the pink ribbon morning tea that my office and I hosted a couple of weeks ago, focused, as many others around the country are, on raising money for and also, critically, raising awareness about breast cancer. This is an incredibly important cause, one that probably touches everyone in this building and everyone across the communities that we represent. Breast cancer, of course, carries a lifetime diagnosis. The risk is one in seven for women and one in 612 for men. It's a cause that I'm proud to support. We were so fortunate to have Nicole and Gracie from BreastScreen Victoria attend to share expert advice on what to look for, how to minimise risks and even to book on-the-spot breast screen appointments, something that was really welcomed by community members. They reminded us that early detection is the most effective way to prevent serious illness or death, making the Commonwealth funded BreastScreen Australia a crucial piece of our national fight against breast cancer. So I want to thank my electorate office team for organising this event and, in particular, for bringing together some diverse community leaders who can be trusted sources of advice to women who might otherwise not have been persuaded to take this vital step for themselves, for their families and for our community.

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