Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Because of our physical human frailties—and I can see that some of us in this place are human—we cannot take health for granted. When people are sick or infirm, they need support to ensure they live happy and productive lives. They need to be able to rely on a health system that puts patients first and is available to all Australians, regardless of income and regardless of their ability to pay. Medicare is the cornerstone of our health system and government should be investing in Medicare to ensure people have access to health care when and where they needed. Unfortunately, we have seen how this government has squeezed Medicare, ripped away its funding, frozen the indexation of rebates and tried again and again to introduce a GP tax.

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