Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government's focus on strengthening Medicare has delivered on a range of commitments to benefit all Australians. For Territorians, I'm proud to say that today the Darwin urgent care clinic is open, following on from the runaway success of the Palmerston urgent care clinic, which has recorded over 37,000 visits since its opening. I visited the Darwin urgent care clinic last Thursday with the Deputy Prime Minister and saw firsthand the great work of Bernie Cummins and her team, and also the Aspire team, who were getting the clinic up and ready to open today. It'll take the pressure off the Royal Darwin Hospital—and it already is—by providing walk-in care for urgent, non-emergency medical needs. And, of course, it's bulk-billed. No appointments are required to get the care that you and your family need, and it's running extended hours, seven days a week.

This is on top of our support for bulk-billing, meaning that more Territorians can see a doctor for free. There are now 23 Medicare bulk-billing GP practices across Darwin and Palmerston, which is an increase of 15 clinics since we brought these changes in. Now, over 70 per cent of all local GP practices in Darwin and Palmerston are registered as Medicare bulk-billing practices.