Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about something that affects every Australian family: access to affordable health care. I've just come from the ABC Heywire Regional Youth Summit showcase of young people from regional Australia putting forward their policy ideas. I want to give a shout-out to Monty Lawlor from Aramac in Queensland. She's a 17-year-old who musters cattle for seven months of the year in cattle stations. She also likes to go feral pig shooting every Friday when she has the day off. Monty's words to me were about access to affordable, accessible health care in her local community in regional Queensland. It was extremely compelling. But, as I started to talk to Monty about some of the other presentations by young people, there was a really key theme. Young people speaking at that event today were talking about access to health care, whether it's timely endometriosis diagnosis for young women or having urgent care closer to home in regional and rural Queensland. I really thank Monte and her friends for their presentations today.

I really hope that, with the work that we do in this place, the generations to come will remember the Albanese Labor government as a government that saved bulk-billing from the coalition's cuts and neglect, because Medicare is one of the symbols of fairness in our nation. It's a promise that you don't have to check your bank balance before you check your symptoms. But for years that promise was quietly eroded under the coalition. Bulk-billing rates were in freefall under the coalition. It was the direct result of the coalition's six-year freeze on Medicare rebates. And we can put a price on how much the coalition cost Australian households in out-of-pocket medical costs. Australians paid $8.3 billion more than they would have under Labor.

In 2022 this government said, 'Not on our watch.' In budget after budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the Albanese government have invested record amounts to strengthen Medicare and restore bulk-billing, including the largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago. In the 2025-26 budget alone, we committed $7.9 billion to ensure 90 per cent of GPs will be fully bulk-billing by 2030, saving Australians hundreds of millions of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.

This matters for everyday Australians, especially working families, single parents and seniors. It means families don't have to choose between a GP visit and putting food on their table. It means pensioners can see their doctor without a gap fee. It means people in regional communities are more likely to get the care they need closer to home. Everywhere I go in Queensland, the real impacts of the health benefits this Labor government is delivering are free to see. Australia is healthier under Labor not only because of the investment in Medicare but because of our forward-thinking investment in urgent care centres, Medicare mental health centres and women's health.

Just last week I was with Emma McBride and our new federal member for Petrie, Emma Comer, to open the brand-new Deception Bay urgent care clinic. The assistant minister also committed to opening a perinatal mental health service in Moreton Bay to service the communities in the seats of Petrie, Dickson and Longman. We also announced $1 million for headspace Caboolture to move to a brand-new space. This is a critical service in this young community. While in Caboolture, I also visited the Bertha Street Medical and Dental Centre and celebrated that clinic becoming a 100 per cent bulk-billing practice. I also met a grey nomad who was about to go on an adventure around Australia, panning for gold. He was really pleased to be able to get his medical check-up before he hit the road. We have also help opened new healthcare facilities in Morayfield, including an urgent care clinic. It is one of the busiest in the country.

Up on the Sunshine Coast, we opened an urgent care clinic in Sippy Downs. We also announced additional funding for headspace Maroochydore, which is getting a $1 million boost to provide better care for young people on the Sunshine Coast. Out west in Toowoomba, I visited Drayton's free endometriosis centre, which is delivering specialist care to women across the Darling Downs. So women in Dalby, Warwick and Oakey no longer need to go all the way to Brisbane.

These are not just buildings; they are lifelines. They are places where people can walk in with worry and walk out with care. They are the embodiment of a Medicare system that puts people before profit, and we're not stopping there.