Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

(—) (): Medicare locals employ doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, podiatrists, Aboriginal health workers and many other health workers like Medicare Local staff. They are responsible for planning and funding things like hours, GP services, mental health services and some childhood immunisation programs. But under Mr Tony Abbott these Medicare Locals—a critical part of our primary health system—would be gone. They would disappear. The health minister has said, and I agree, that it is very concerning that Mr Tony Abbott and Mr Peter Dutton have committed to scrapping Medicare Locals if the coalition wins government. It would be a sad day for health services, not only in Queensland but right across the country. At a time when patients require better primary care, the Liberals want to slash 3,000 front-line services from the health department. We need to be very clear— (Time expired)