Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a privilege to rise to speak on this motion because it is fundamental to what this government is about and to what Labor governments are about. At its heart, it's about how we regard being Australian—that access to quality universal health care which Labor governments always stand up for. On that note, it was disingenuous of the member for Forrest to say things have in fact got worse under this government. What has happened under this government is we have reversed the freefall in Medicare bulk-billing that was happening under those opposite. We have opened Medicare urgent care clinics right around this country. Those opposite did not do that. They did not offer this opportunity for walk-in, bulk-billed care in our communities.

In fact, in my community we now have two Medicare urgent care clinics. Just recently, over summer, a new clinic opened in Eltham, providing fully bulk-billed treatment for non-life threatening illnesses and injuries without the long waits people too often face in emergency departments. That joins the one we had existing in Heidelberg, on Burgundy Street, which has supported thousands of locals since it opened in 2022. I see this firsthand in my community—parents of young children who otherwise knew they were in for a long wait at an emergency department after, perhaps, an injury at a sporting event, and elderly people who feel like they just need to be seen and can't get into their regular GP at that time. This clinic is providing all those people and others with support and care they never had before, and it is providing it because this Albanese Labor government believes in Medicare, because we are funding Medicare in our communities.

One local, Riana, shared her experience with me, saying she went to the clinic when her daughter was in severe pain. She described the staff there as welcoming and compassionate, and the doctor as knowledgeable, and said the care helped to ease her daughter's pain. For her, the relief was finding the clinic, not having to wait as long and having that peace of mind almost immediately. On that note, I acknowledge the incredible doctors and nurses who keep these clinics running and who are part of our Medicare system. I've had wonderful feedback about the people who work in these clinics.

At the Eltham clinic, Sharrine shared that, after finding all the GP appointments fully booked, she was feeling overwhelmed and on the verge of tears. She was able to meet with a staff member there, Allison, who took the time to listen, who treated her with care and understanding and who went out of her way to help. It's that approach that means people are getting both the empathy and the care they need. It's a testament to the value we put on Medicare.

Outside of Medicare clinics, we are delivering cheaper medicines for people in our community. We have reduced the maximum cost of PBS prescriptions to $25, and to $7.70 for concession card holders. In Jagajaga locals have now saved more than $15.4 million from 1.7 million cheaper prescriptions. This is real cost-of-living relief, and it means people are able to access these prescriptions without worrying about what trade-offs they're making in their lives. We do not want to see people going without medicines—they should have the medicines they need to have—because they are needing to make choices about what they pay for. That is, again, a fundamental tenet of this government; it is what we believe in. We believe that access to these medications, to this health care, should be for all Australians, not just for some.

We've introduced 1800MEDICARE, where locals can now access free 24/7 health advice from registered nurses. So whether you need expert guidance or simple reassurance, the nurses at 1800MEDICARE are available around the clock. They can refer you to the right care—whether that is back to your regular GP, a local hospital or a Medicare urgent care clinic.

We've made major changes to bulk-billing, tripling the incentives for GPs to bulk-bill. Again, I get a lot of feedback about this in our community. I'm pleased to see that the Greensborough Medical and Dental Clinic on Flintoff Street is now 100 per cent bulk-billing for GP visits. I know other clinics in my community are following suit. Again, this is making a real difference to people's lives. But these are the investments that only happen under Labor governments. Under those opposite, bulk-billing was in free fall. We did not have walk-in Medicare urgent care clinics. We did not have the discounts that we've made on PBS scripts, because those opposite do not understand that part of being Australian is having access to good quality health care.

See this speech in context