Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government's investments in bulk-billing are not just reflected in the raw numbers of new fully bulk-billed practices; 96 per cent of Australians are now within a 20-minute drive of a registered Medicare bulk-billing practice. We, on this side, are for universal health care. What about the record of those opposite? When they were in government, they cut hundreds of millions of dollars from health in the 2014 budget. It was nearly half a billion dollars. Senator Ruston said at the time:

Everybody would like to think that we could go on in life with universal health care, with universal education and with all these wonderful things that over the last 20 years Australians have come to accept as a given. Unfortunately, the credit card is maxed out.

That was their message—public health was not a priority for government. Our message is a very different message. Our message is that you deserve access to health care no matter how much you make or where you live.