Tonight is census night and it's an important night because tonight every Australian is counted. Tonight we take a snapshot of our nation, and tonight we gather statistics and we get the numbers in. But you don't have to wait until the census release to hear some good statistics because yesterday the latest Medicare stats came in. It's good news for Australians and their families because the bulk-billing rate rose to 84.1 per cent, and that's up five per cent from the same time last year. Queensland, my home state, is up by 4.7 per cent

In my electorate of Moreton on Brisbane's southside, we now have 28 fully bulk-billing Medicare GP practices—that is, 28 places where no wallet is required, 28 places where green and gold plastic is the only currency that you need, and 28 places where health care doesn't care about your bank balance. I had the great pleasure of visiting the grand reopening of one of those bulk-billing GPs at the Moorooka Medical Hub just last month. This is Medicare and this is Labor.