Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—At the request of Senator Ruston, I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, she will move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the Prime Minister promised 71 times to Australians that 'all you need is your Medicare card, not a credit card' and that it would be 'free to see a GP';

(b) notes that, despite the Prime Minister's promise, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare:

(i) while the Prime Minister was busy waving around his Medicare card claiming it is all you need to see a doctor, Australians have forked out almost $2 billion to see a GP in the past year,

(ii) in May 2025 alone, during the election campaign, Australians paid a staggering $166 million in combined out-of-pocket costs, and

(iii) Australians need their credit cards more and more, as well as their Medicare card, to see a GP under Labor;

(c) condemns the Prime Minister for not being truthful with Australians during the Federal Election campaign; and

(d) calls on the Prime Minister to admit that he misled Australians about Medicare.