Labor’s Medicare scare campaign a stunt to get votes from Australians

LABOR’S wild Medicare scare campaign has been exposed as a vote buying stunt as the Opposition is open to working with the private sector to make it more viable.

Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten speaks at the National Catholic Education Commission Conference as part of the 2016 election campaign in Perth. Picture: AAP

LABOR’S wild Medicare scare campaign has been exposed as a vote buying stunt after it emerged the Opposition is open to working with the private sector to make the institution more viable.

A furious Malcolm Turnbull yesterday launched a blistering attack on Bill Shorten’s campaign, ordering Labor to stop calling old people at night and scaring them.

It came as Mr Shorten’s own health spokeswoman Catherine King yesterday conceded a Labor government would look to work with private I.T firms to improve Medicare.

“Certainly, we’ll have to look at I.T solutions,” she told ABC Radio.

The admission from Labor came as the Opposition Leader attempted to embark on a second day of trying to turn the election into a referendum on Medicare, despite Mr Turnbull clearly and repeatedly ruling out any changes.

A defiant Prime Minister yesterday gave a resolute guarantee that Medicare would “never be sold” as he labelled the scare campaign “the biggest lie” of the election.

Labor strategists believe creating fear over Medicare’s future is playing out well in the base and among undecided voters who make regular visits to the doctor.

Campaigning in Western Sydney yesterday, Mr Turnbull described the opposition’s campaign as the “biggest lie” of the election.

“They have been ringing older Australians in the evening and frightening them — saying Medicare is going to be sold off; Medicare is going to be privatised,” he said.

“It is the biggest lie of the campaign.

“The way they have sought to frighten people, particularly older Australians, is really shameful.”

Mr Turnbull then gave an iron clad guarantee that his government would never sell the asset.

“I am making a solemn commitment, an unequivocal commitment that every element of Medicare services will continue to be delivered by government, full stop,” he said.

“I want to be very clear — Medicare will never be privatised. Medicare will never be sold.”

Immediately after this, Mr Shorten declared the PM couldn’t be trusted.

The Labor leader, however, repeatedly failed yesterday to rule out any cuts to health or human services, including outsourcing back room functions to find efficiencies.

Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign pledge on Medicare on a sign. Picture: Supplied

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the election trail today. Picture: Jason Edwards

“I can absolutely make the guarantee we won’t sell off chunks of the Medicare system,” he said.

Mr Shorten was also asked, during a press conference at a medical centre in the Perth electorate of Swan, whether he would use the word “lying” to describe Mr Turnbull’s stance on Medicare.

But the Opposition Leader avoided using the term, saying only: “Let’s be really straight here about what he’s saying and what he’s doing.”

He later said he would not let the PM “off the hook”.

“No-one believes him when he says that Medicare will be safe under him,” he said.

“I’ll leave it to Australians to look at the evidence.”

The Turnbull camp have been stunned by the Medicare campaign believing there is no basis for it.

Mr Shorten began the campaign based on the creation of a so called “Medicare Privatisation Taskforce”.

The Prime Minister said no such discussions had ever gone to cabinet. He revealed that the Department of Health had independently looked at the future of Medicare.

“There has been no decision taken to outsource any part of Medicare. Some work has been done by the department, so I gather. But it has never been a decision of the government to outsource any part of Medicare services.”

Mr Turnbull insisted Mr Shorten’s scare campaign had no basis.

Originally published as Labor’s Medicare scare campaign a stunt to get votes from Australians