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Federal election 2016: Shorten confirms Labor sent 'Mediscare' text
By Tony Moore
The Australian Federal Police are evaluating a complaint about the controversial "Mediscare" text message that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten confirmed on Tuesday afternoon came from Queensland Labor headquarters in Brisbane.
"The Australian Federal Police (AFP) can confirm it received a referral on Saturday 2 July 2016 in relation to the receipt of text messages allegedly sent from Medicare," it confirmed on Wednesday morning.
"This matter is now being evaluated and whilst this occurs it would not be appropriate to provide further comment," a spokeswoman said.
Earlier
Labor's Queensland headquarters in Brisbane created the "Mediscare" text that pretended to come from Medicare, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten confirmed on Tuesday.
Bill Shorten confirms the Mediscare text began in Brisbane as he visits Morayfield Shopping Centre with his wife Chloe and Labor candidate for the seat of Longman Susan Lamb.Credit: Glenn Hunt
The text so infuriated Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the Liberal Party on Saturday asked police to investigate.
The election-day text, which said the government planned to wind back Medicare services, appeared to come from "Medicare".
It read: "Mr Turnbull's plans to privatise Medicare will take us down the road of no return. Time is running out to Save Medicare".
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Morayfield told reporters the Medicare text idea came from Labor's headquarters in Brisbane.
Mr Shorten was asked directly on Tuesday if the "Mediscare" campaign came out of the Queensland branch of the Labor Party.
"Yes, they've taken responsibility for it," Mr Shorten said.
A number of people, including journalists, claimed on Saturday that they had been sent the same text message from a sender that appeared under the name 'Medicare'.
Labor's state secretary Evan Moorehead was unavailable on Tuesday night, but a Labor spokesman on Sunday confirmed the text originated in Brisbane.
A spokesman from Queensland Labor confirmed it had sent the text messages but said: "The message was not intended to indicate that it was a message from Medicare, rather to identify the subject of the text."
"The message was consistent with Labor's message throughout the campaign," he said.
Labor was repeatedly accused of lying about the government's plans to privatise Medicare during the 2016 federal election campaign.*
On Sunday Attorney General George Brandis said the Liberal Party had referred the issue to the Australian Federal Police.
Mr Brandis said on Sunday that the text messages and replica Medicare cards sent by the Australian Council of Trade Unions this week calling on voters to preference the Coalition last both seemed "to be prima facie breaches of the law".
"I understand the Liberal Party or at least one of the state divisions has made a complaint to the police," he told Sky News.
Mr Shorten at Morayfield offered four pieces of information that Labor says were plans to privatise Medicare.
He said freezing GP rebates for six years, increasing the price of prescription medicines, cuts to diagnostic imaging for x-rays and providing reduced funding to Australian hospital than Labor had promised, and a deferred $5 million taskforce to outsource the Medicare payments scheme was Labor's proof.
Mr Shorten did not accept these funding changes could be seen as cuts rather than as a "privatisation" of Medicare.
"I accept that what he is doing – with his cuts - is shifting the burden of Medicare to private individuals."
The government says it has no plans to privatise Medicare at all.
On Tuesday Mr Shorten was forced to concede he had no evidence to say Mr Turnbull was actually planning a second "snap election" – other than politics - which he announced at Tuesday's media conference.
"He has a Senate which under his new voting rules which is practically unworkable to a bloke like him, for he is not particularly renowned for being up for negotiation – it's his way or the highway," he said
"He had a backbench in revolt and he has a push to have Tony Abbott back in Cabinet," he said.
"So I have no doubt that the easy option for him would be to pull the ripcord and look at having another election."
However Mr Turnbull ruled out a second election on Sunday after the July 2 election.
"We are committed to ensuring that the Parliament as elected, will work effectively and constructively for the Australian people," Mr Turnbull said.
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