Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A budget is more than a set of numbers. It is a statement of what a government believes people deserve. This federal budget says, clearly and proudly, that Australians deserve health care that is affordable, accessible and there when they need it. This budget invests in Medicare. It invests in bulk-billing. It locks in Medicare urgent care clinics as a permanent part of our health system. It delivers record funding for public hospitals, cheaper medicines and stronger digital health infrastructure. This means a child with a fever can be seen before midnight. It means a pensioner can fill a script without having to choose between medicine and groceries. It means emergency departments can focus on true emergencies. And it means Medicare is not just defended in speeches; it is strengthened in practice.

While Labor is building, others are barking from the cheap seats—and then there's the One Nation-Liberal coalition. There's a party that's spent decades perfecting the politics of the empty fist, all swing and no substance. They come into this parliament thundering about the forgotten Australian, but they have no intention of remembering them once the cameras are gone. On health care, they're not just weak; they are vacant. They have no credible plan for Medicare, no plan for hospitals, no plan for GP access and no plan for bulk-billing—nothing. It's just a long, tired performance of outrage from a party that confuses volume with virtue and anger with intellect. On these tests, One Nation and the Liberals fail every time. (Time expired)

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