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

(—) (): Thank you Senator Ananda-Rajah for the supplementary. In October we passed a very important milestone. We saw Australians clock up two million visits to our Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the country. As you said, we opened 87 in our first term, and we are on track in this term to open another 50. What it means for Australians is that those in need of urgent care that is not life-threatening can get help much more conveniently, much more quickly and for free. In my home state of South Australia, this is already making a difference. We are delivering on the new Labor member for Sturt's campaign commitment to open a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Adelaide's eastern suburbs. We are opening two more in Victor Harbor and in Whyalla. I am sure Senator Ruston will be very pleased about this, because that helps take pressure off local hospitals, and almost half of them— (Time expired)