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

Thank you, Senator Grogan, for the question. If the Senate would indulge me also to acknowledge former senator Evans, a former foreign minister who also has sat in this chair—it's very good to see you here.

Senator Grogan knows, as do all the senators on this side, that the Liberals and Nationals deliberately ran down Medicare for nine long years. Under them, they made it harder for Australians to see a doctor. They left a legacy of declining bulk-billing rates and doctor availability, thanks to their mismanagement and freeze of the Medicare rebate. Unlike those opposite, those on this side believe that Australians deserve access to universal, world-class medical care, and we are working to deliver that.

Our budget included over $6 billion to strengthen Medicare, with the centrepiece being a tripling of the bulk-billing incentive, the beating heart of Medicare. A Labor government invests more in bulk-billing, which we know is the heart of Medicare. This means a trip to the doctor is now cheaper for Australian families, with five million children under 16 benefiting. This will also help seven million pensioners and concession card holders. This boost to the bulk-billing incentive was the largest increase to the incentive in how long? In 40 years. In fact, this government is increasing Medicare rebates across the board by about $1.5 billion next year, so that next year we will deliver a bigger increase to Medicare rebates than those opposite delivered in their first seven years in government.

We're also growing the health workforce and supporting our trusted health workers to do what they're trained to do. In the time remaining, I haven't even got to the making-medicines-cheaper aspect of the government's policy— (Time expired)