Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Polley. Thank you for your support for Medicare and for your continued advocacy for public health and public health measures, alongside all of your Tasmanian and Labor colleagues. What we know is: Labor built Medicare. We will always protect it and we will always strengthen it.

There are some differences between those on this side of the chamber and those on that side. We can go through them. Top of the list is Medicare. We are the party of Medicare, and we know that you have opposed it and sought to break it over many years, including under Mr Dutton—I'll come back to you. In this budget, this Albanese Labor government is making historic investments in Medicare. We believe Australians should be able to access affordable, reliable health care. That is why we are investing $5.7 billion to build a stronger Medicare.

Our priority is to invest in Medicare and make it stronger. Their priority was to cut Medicare. Those opposite left measures in the budget on a time line to be cut, and they failed to address the needs of Australians, particularly our most vulnerable. This government is investing to ensure the tripling of the bulk billing incentive. This is the largest increase to the incentive in the 40-year history of Medicare, and it will benefit Australians. It will benefit pensioners. It will benefit Commonwealth concession card holders. It will benefit Australian families. We've wasted no time making medicines cheaper, establishing Medicare urgent care clinics and investing in practices to employ more nurses and allied health professionals. We've committed $219.4 million to extend public dental services because we understand Medicare must always be protected. (Time expired)