Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately this Saturday will be the last Saturday that our local Medicare office in Eastgardens will deliver services to our community. Earlier this week I was informed by the Minister for Human Services that our local Medicare office will no longer be open on a Saturday—a disgraceful decision for working families in our community.

One of the biggest issues in my area is cost of living pressures. Consequently, most families have parents who both work during the week. They need to be able to access affordable healthcare services on a weekend. Our local Medicare office was well used by the local community, and it has been closed down on Saturdays, when it will no longer available to our community. There was very little consultation and less than a week's notice by this government about the closure of healthcare services in our community, it is a complete disgrace.

This comes on top of them floating the idea of a $6 co-payment for Medicare, a co-payment that will hurt those on fixed incomes like pensioners or low-income earners. Those who rely on adequate healthcare services will be affected by this government, not only by the closure of Medicare services in local communities like mine but also by there being a co-payment for Medicare into the future. It is a disgraceful decision.