Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Doctor, doctor, give me the news! In the Hunter, for too long the news was not great. Too often the next line felt like, 'And here's the bill.' Every family in the Hunter want to know they can see a doctor with their Medicare card, not their credit card. Before this government strengthened Medicare, bulk-billing in the Hunter was in real trouble. Just 10 out of 50 GP surgeries were bulk-billing. That's only 20 per cent. For too many people, seeing a doctor meant pulling out a credit card instead of a Medicare card. But today that picture has changed. Twenty-five out of 50 GP surgeries in the Hunter now bulk bill. That's 50 per cent of practices and growing. This is real progress for local families right across the Hunter electorate. It happened because this government, the Albanese Labor government, made the largest investment in Medicare in our nation's history. We backed doctors to bulk-bill and made sure the system worked for patients as well. After years of neglect, bulk-billing was in freefall. We are turning that around, and communities like mine are feeling the difference right now on the ground. This is good for pensioners, families, apprentices and working people. This is good for local clinics and our health system. Labor built Medicare, and the Albanese Labor government will continue to strengthen it to make sure we're looking after the everyday mums and dads and Aussies in this country.