Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian people really do cherish Medicare. It really is the pride of our nation. People are proud that, regardless of who you are and how much you earn, Medicare is there to support you. If you ever get sick or if you injure yourself, there will be support to get you back on your feet, back to work or back to school. But, for whatever reason, and I'm yet to determine why, this government is out to undermine it. And I know it's not the first time that that has happened. Coalition governments have historically tried to dismantle Medicare, touting that they would rather Australia be subjected to an American-style system. This absolutely makes no sense at all to me, and I know it makes no sense at all to my constituents.

I've had plenty of Longman locals come to me fearful of what the government would do if Labor wasn't opposing cuts to Medicare and holding them to account. They live in fear about their precious Medicare and what it means to them and their families. So that's what I'm doing today—standing up for my constituents of Longman, standing up for Medicare. I'm standing up to tell the government to keep their hands off Medicare. Universal health care is a basic right. It's a basic right for the five-day-old baby who has just been brought home at Narangba—it's a basic right for that infant. It's basic right for the 15-year-old student who went to school today at Burpengary State High. It's a basic right for the 35-year-old early childhood educator who went to work today in Morayfield and educated our young children. And it's a basic right for our 75-year-old farmers out at Woodford or our 75-year-old retired rail workers on Bribie Island. It is a right to be healthy, no matter what your income.

Recently released data shows that the median personal income in my electorate is $580 a week. People who are earning $580 a week cannot afford to pay more for health care. For some people, it means that they have to forgo it. And it's a story I've heard many times before. It is not fair that low-income Australians have to make a decision between whether they get health care to get well or to fix an injury, or whether they eat. It is not fair. It is not right. It is not the type of society that people in Australia want to live in. They don't want it for themselves; they don't want it for their families.

I cannot stress enough how important the Medicare system is for people all over Australia and, like I said, in particular for people in my community. It wasn't that long ago that Prime Minister Abbott stood up and promised no cuts to Medicare before turning around and doing just the opposite. I'm standing up today and telling this government: keep your hands off our Medicare.