MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR (Barton) (15:48): I have the opportunity to reflect a little bit on the member for Mallee's comments today in respect of this MPI. Her tone was quite disturbing, and her comments continue division—but this is between the old and the young. I'm tired of this.
The reality is I cared for my grandparents, particularly my grandfather, who recently passed away. During the time when the coalition was in power, we suddenly watched the decline of bulk-billing in the area of Hurstville, which is in my electorate. It is a big issue.
Running as the candidate for Barton, I found that being able to access bulk-billing services was a big issue, particularly for older people in my community. That decline was a result of the coalition not investing in health. The reality is, reflecting on the member of Mallee's comments today, particularly those putting down our health system—no-one is saying it's perfect, not at all.
But it has taken an Albanese Labor government to invest fully to make it better after a decade of neglect. I'll take the eye roll from the member of Mallee as well. When she talks down the nurses that work at St George Hospital, she talks down the doctors who work there as well.
She also talks down the aged-care workers in the aged-care services in my electorate. Dr Webster: That is rubbish! Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR: That came from your mouth.
The member for Mallee made it very clear— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Let's direct comments through the chair. No more interjections from the member for Mallee either. Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR: But the reality of her reflections on this particular point of the Australian health system, on the workers in particular, is really damaging.
The reality here is that we in the Labor Party have increased the amount of funding, particularly for bulk-billing services, which is great. For the electorate of Barton, we've seen a significant increase of 14 fully bulk-billed services. Mr Soon: In Banks as well.
Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR: And in Banks as well. I want to reflect on the issue of the MPI, which is about restoring that fairness in the rebate system. This directs much-needed funding to provide that dignity in care, particularly for our older Australians.
Labor has invested $3 billion in delivering more aged-care beds, more packages and better care for older Australians in this current budget, and it's important to reflect on that because the reality is we saw that neglect over the past 10 years under the coalition. Also, the reality of caring for grandparents—I think it's one of those big challenges for a lot of us, regardless of age; I'm kissing 40—is that it is quite challenging.
But it's pertinent to reflect on the fact that having cheaper medicines has been a great achievement for our older community in the electorate of Barton and across Australia. Also the free RSV vaccinations—that life-saving vaccination costs almost $300, and, from May of this year, older Australians didn't have to pay a cent. That's another policy implementation to help our older Australians.
The urgent care clinic in Carlton has been a huge hit, particularly because of a decade of not having bulk-billing services there. It has been well received by people in my electorate. I also wanted to quickly reflect on the PBS—in particular, on medication for older women who are experiencing menopause—and on the expansion of endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics that are quite beneficial for older women in Australia.
I'm quite proud of that. I heard the contributions from those across about funding for hospitals. The Labor government has increased that funding by $25 billion over the next five years through that landmark hospital funding agreement.
That is delivering more money for public hospitals across the states and territories. More importantly, as a former employment industrial relations lawyer, the workforce is very important, and it has grown. The health workforce had an extra 17,000 doctors joining the Australian health system in the last two years.
That's more than any time in the past decade. We're giving students more opportunities and training more doctors and nurses with the largest GP training program in history, and we're giving hundreds of scholarships for nurses and midwives to extend their skills and qualifications. While I hear some concerns, particularly about older Australians who are contributing through the private health system, there are also other Australians—older Australians—who don't have the opportunity to pay for that.
Those people are coming to the St Vincent de Paul Society for help. The Albanese Labor government has made sure that we invest significantly in health not only for young people but also for older Australians.