Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that people are dealing with cost-of-living pressures, and I am acutely aware of the impact this is having on families on the Central Coast. That is why our government's No. 1 focus is delivering cost-of-living relief. Labor's tax cuts deliver money back into the pockets of every Australian taxpayer from 1 July. These tax reforms mean a fairer tax system. In my electorate of Dobell, 88 per cent of taxpayers will receive a greater tax cut than under the plans of the former Morrison Liberal government. This will mean a nurse at Wyong Hospital earning $76,000 will receive a tax cut of $1,579, and a tradie from Warnervale earning $110,000 will receive a tax cut of $2,429.

Our government is also delivering a $300 energy bill rebate for every household on the Central Coast. Households in New South Wales are paying some of the highest electricity prices due to the mismanagement of the former Liberal state government. This is an example of the long-term impacts of government decisions. Our energy bill relief will help ease some of the pressure on household budgets. Every Central Coast household will see a $75 reduction off their quarterly bill, totalling $300 over the year.

On the Central Coast, TAFE has long been an important pathway to secure work and a steady career. When we came to office the Albanese Labor government introduced fee-free TAFE. In 2023 alone, more than 150,000 people across New South Wales enrolled in a course through our fee-free TAFE program. Cheryl wrote to me and said, 'I'm enrolled in my diploma of nursing at Wyong. The fee break made this more accessible for me and many others.' She goes on, 'Many of us work in aged-care and disability sectors and are working towards bettering ourselves and using our new skills to be better at the roles we are currently in.' Lauren also said, 'I am currently undertaking a fee-free course and will be starting a new job teaching at the Grove Studio in Gosford later this year.'

Fee-free TAFE is changing lives on the Central Coast and opening new opportunities for thousands of people to upskill or retrain. That is why in 2024 we have announced 300,000 fee-free TAFE places and in the recent budget we announced a further 20,000 fee-free TAFE and VET courses in housing and construction. This will help grow the pipeline of skilled workers to build houses in the future, and we know how essential this workforce is.

Before the election I joined Dr Gordon Reid to commit that if elected leader would establish two Medicare urgent clinics on the Central Coast of New South Wales, one in the north and one in the south. These clinics are for urgent but not life-threatening conditions—a cut, a break, a fever. Towards the end of 2023, the Umina Beach and Lake Haven Medicare urgent-care clinics opened. Since opening in November, the Umina clinic has seen more than 4,400 presentations and, since opening a month later in December, the Lake Haven clinic has seen more than 6,200 presentations. At Lake Haven, 98 per cent of people were referred directly home, taking significant pressure off the Wyong emergency department. Lynne said, 'My friend visited last week and was treated very quickly—all bulk-billed.' And Lynne's right: all visits to Medicare urgent-care clinics are 100 per cent bulk-billed. All you need is your Medicare card. With the success of the 58 Medicare urgent-care clinic that have been rolled out across the country, we're establishing 29 additional clinics.

Finally, our government is making sure that all Australians have access to mental health care and support. Our $290 million investment in headspace is growing the network to 173 locations and expanding existing services, including in Bendigo. Locally, the coast now has three headspaces: Gosford, Lake Haven and Wyong, which our community fought for over many years and which I was proud to deliver when we came to government. We're also rolling out a national network of 61 Medicare mental health centres offering free, walk-in mental health support without the need for an appointment. This includes locations in Tuggerah and West Gosford on the Central Coast. With a near $30 million investment, we're building on the former Head to Health model, so every Medicare mental health centre has a psychologist and a psychiatrist on call.