Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Ananda-Rajah. We know you, in particular, are someone who understands the health system firsthand. You understand how important it is for the government to build an even stronger Medicare for Australians. While those opposite continue to focus on themselves and engage in multiple media interviews about themselves, we on this side are focused on delivering affordable, quality health care for Australians, making medicines cheaper for all Australians, record investments in bulk billing and, as we all know—and this is hard for them to hear—1 November, last Saturday, was the beginning of our Medicare bulk-billing practice incentive program, an $8.5 billion investment, the single-largest investment in Medicare since a Labor government established it 51 years ago.

What does the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive mean for all Australians? It means the introduction of an additional incentive payment for practices that bulk bill every patient. It means that nine in 10 GP visits will be bulk billed by the end of the decade and it means three times more practices across Australia will be fully bulk-billing practices, like the One Healthcare clinic in Woodside, which has declared already that, with the help of the incentive payment, it will move to a fully bulk-billed practice.

Already, around a thousand clinics have indicated they are moving to full bulk billing in the coming weeks, after having previously charged gap fees. That is a Labor government in action. The number is growing each day, in addition to the 1,600 clinics that already bulk bill 100 per cent of their patients. Six months ago, Australians voted for a government that would strengthen Medicare, and we are delivering on that commitment.