Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to say I am proud of the 2023 budget, which delivers the stronger foundations for a better future. When it comes to what that means for the people in the Perth electorate, I have proudly written to every one of my constituents sharing with them the news that is in this budget and how it will lay those stronger foundations.

The centrepiece is investing in our public health system, in our public Medicare system—something those opposite have spent 40 years trying to tear down, something those on the Labor side have spent 40 years building up and protecting. And we do that in this budget—tripling bulk-billing incentives, making sure that people can get the doctors they need to see when they need them. In my electorate of Perth, I was proud to stand alongside the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Early Childhood Education as we announced the first Medicare urgent care clinic anywhere in the country in Morley, in Perth, at Rudloc Road Medical and Dental Centre. It's going to be a fantastic service for the people of Perth. It comes on top of the bulk-billing incentives, which will really assist up to 63,741 people in my Perth electorate across 58 GP practices.

Every single pharmacy in the Perth electorate will be able to deliver cheaper medicines from later this year, with two-month prescriptions. This is a good initiative that will benefit some 37,000 people across the Perth electorate, saving them $180 a year or more—real cost-of-living relief, available at every pharmacy in the Perth electorate.

On top of that, one month from today we will see the Cheaper Child Care package come into action—something that I know you, Deputy Speaker Chesters, have campaigned on very strongly for a long period of time. In my electorate, 6,800 families will see cheaper child care, giving children the care they need at a price that parents can afford, helping people get back into the workforce.

We think about the other big pressure on our workforce. I was pleased to stand in my electorate on the weekend as the government released our national strategy for the care and support economy. We know that we can do those big things like provide a pay increase for 25,000 aged-care workers in Western Australia but we need to plan for the future. I encourage every Australian to have their say on that very important piece of work.

Then it comes to all the other initiatives contained in this budget. You see, when it comes to education and skills, 3,000 initial places for universities and 19,000 fee-free TAFE places across TAFE in Western Australia. We see 39,960 premises in the Perth electorate alone finally getting access to fibre-to-the-home internet, thanks to this government.