The reason it was so needed is that, as Dr Duckett told us:

The legacy left by Liberal health ministers Dutton, Ley, and Hunt is a Medicare scheme sorely in need of repair, because of the slow erosion of the value of rebates, and the failure to respond in any meaningful way to changed circumstances …

Our record investment means it's easier for 11 million Australians, including kids, pensioners and other concession card holders, to see a doctor—the largest investment in bulk-billing in the 40 years of Medicare history.