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

My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to increase education for healthcare workers, and how does this strengthen Medicare?

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the revered member for Robertson for his question. I told the House last week that more Aussies are starting a university degree this year than ever before. I've got some more good news for you: this year, the number of Australians starting a science degree is up by eight per cent. The number starting an engineering degree is up by nine per cent. That's good because we need more scientists and we need more engineers. But we also need more doctors and more nurses—more health professionals. So here is some more good news: the number of Australians doing a pharmacy degree this year is up 3.5 per cent, dentistry is up 11.5 per cent, optical science is up 14 per cent, occupational therapy is up 18.7 per cent, speech pathology is up 12 per cent and medicine is up eight per cent.

As my friend the health minister alluded to a moment ago, there's more good news on that front as well. This year, we opened a new medical school in Darwin, in the north, and a new medical school in Launceston, in the south. Next year we'll open a new medical school in Queensland as well. And today we've opened applications to train even more doctors at more universities right across the country. What we're announcing today and what we've already announced means that, when it's all rolled out, we'll have 1,800 more doctors being trained in our universities than we had before we were elected—triple what the last Liberal government did in half the time. That's the difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal Party. We see education as an investment; they see it as a cost. We want to strengthen Medicare; they secretly want to sell it.

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, if you're asking me for a story, I'll give you a story. Here's some more good news: 20,000 young Australian nursing students have now got paid prac. That's real cost-of-living help, real financial, help to get you through your practical training.

My overly anxious friends opposite want a story. Here's the story of Samantha. She lives in Bundoora, in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. She does her paid prac at the Royal Women's Hospital in the city. That's two trains and one bus from home. Sometimes she finishes her shift at 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock—sometimes midnight. I asked her the other day, 'What does paid prac mean for you?' She said it meant she could afford an Uber. She said it meant peace of mind. She said it meant getting home safe at night. Just think about that. Samantha is training to do one of the most important jobs in the world. Getting her home safe is the least we can do.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.