Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to talk about the government's agenda for strengthening Medicare. It won't be any surprise to Australians to know at the core of that agenda is turning around the bulk-billing rates that were in absolute freefall when we came to government in 2022. For Labor, bulk-billing—being able to see a doctor whenever you need to rather than when you can afford to—has been the beating heart of Medicare, and we've been fighting that fight for four decades. I am sitting next to the member for Macarthur, who started practice on the first day of Medicare's introduction, and, even back then, we had to fight for bulk-billing, fight against a Liberal Party who, in John Howard's words, said it was 'an absolute rort' and, frankly, fight against doctors groups at the time as well.

But our Strengthening Medicare agenda is more than just bulk-billing. It's also about implementing new models of care that respond to the needs of Australian patients today. I'm really proud of the 137 urgent care clinics that we've promised to Australians. About 134 of them are already operating seven days a week, extended hours, providing high-quality urgent care to people for non-life-threatening emergencies. The other three will be opening in coming weeks.

We also, on 1 January, kicked off 1800MEDICARE, which ensures that Australians have a qualified nurse at the end of the phone to give them high-quality health advice 24/7, 365 days a year. And, if the nurse thinks that it's appropriate, the patient can be referred for a free GP telehealth consult between 6 pm and 6 am seven days a week.

Today I'm really delighted to announce that we're rolling out an equivalent program for mental health distress. When we talked to mental health experts on coming to government, and when we've read reports like the Productivity Commission report, it's been clear that Australia has had, for some time, a significant gap in the mental health supports available to Australians. That gap is for relatively low-intensity support for moderate levels of distress. This can often be as a result of one of those life events we all go through: relationship breakdowns, job losses, bereavements and such. Sometimes people can get through those periods with the support of their family and friends. At other times they need some professional help.

Today we're moving to the next level of our Medicare Mental Health Check In program. This provides, again, around-the-clock support for people who want access to information that will help them deal with that level of distress. From this week they will also have access to low-intensity therapy delivered by qualified professionals—without a GP referral, without any out-of-pocket costs and backed by the Medicare system. That is what a stronger Medicare plan looks like.