STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator MULHOLLAND (Queensland) (13:58): Let's talk about something that every Australian family relies upon—Medicare. The Labor Party built it, and the Liberal and National parties tried to break it. They tried to cut it, suffocate it and grind it into the ground, and now it is this Labor government and only this Labor government that can and will bring it back to life.

From this Saturday, Labor makes good on its commitment to the Australian people. We promised the single biggest investment in Medicare in Australia's history, and that is exactly what we're delivering. Labor is rebuilding Medicare brick by brick after the Liberal and National parties drove a bulldozer through it.

Now, they have turned the dozer on themselves, smashing and trashing their once great parties into bizarre little fragments. Let's be honest, those opposite couldn't organise a flu shot in a pharmacy. They are more interested in talking about resuscitating old policies than breathing new life into Medicare.

But, from 1 November, new bulk-billing incentives will be paid to GPs for every patient they see. Already, 150 clinics in Queensland have indicated they will convert to fully bulk-billed clinics from this Saturday. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Mulholland.

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