Senator Anne Ruston ‘desperately wants to see Medicare fall over’, says Labor candidate for Capricornia Russell Robertson
Labor candidate for Capricornia Russell Robertson has spoken out after Senator Anne Ruston was nominated to take over as Health Minister if the Coalition wins the election, saying she was someone who “desperately wants to see Medicare fall over”. Read the Coalition’s response.
Rockhampton
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Labor candidate for Capricornia Russell Robertson has spoken out after Senator Anne Ruston was nominated to take over as Health Minister if the Coalition wins the election, claiming she is someone who “desperately wants to see Medicare fall over”.
Mr Robertson said Ms Ruston’s appointment “highlights the LNPs commitment to underfunding Medicare and making sure we don’t have universal healthcare moving forward”.
In 2015, Ms Ruston said Medicare “in its current form is not sustainable into the future without some change being made”.
“We have seen the LNP reduce Medicare,” Mr Robertson said.
“We have seen the importance of GPs and now how hard it is to see a GP in CQ. What we are seeing is GP waits blowing out.
“We are seeing increased costs of 25 per cent to attend to a GP and that’s if you can get in.
“My own mum had to wait three weeks to get in and see a GP just for a care plan. It is not good enough.
“This is because of the LNP government’s poor approach to universal healthcare.
“That’s why I am calling them out now, to make sure they start restoring the funding they have cut.”
He said he would be lobbying for one of the 50 urgent medical care centres that Labor has promised $135 million to fund if elected.
“We have made it clear that Medicare and universal health care is stable in a Labor government,” he said.
“We have seen years of the LNP trying to destroy Medicare, Anne Ruston even says it’s unsustainable.
“We believe it is sustainable and we believe universal health care is a pillar to Queensland society and Australia at large.
“Labor has already made a commitment to making sure they restore the funding in Medicare and as far as GPs go and emergency health care, we have made another commitment as far as emergency care clinics.
“This is Labor’s commitment to making sure we provide decent health care in the regions.
“Not cutting health care, not cutting and driving up costs and not scaring away GPs.
“This will reduce the load on GPs by making sure we can have these emergency care clinics staffed and try and take some of the load of GPs in CQ.
“I am going to be lobbying hard to make sure that I can try and deliver one of these clinics for Rockhampton.”
Ms Ruston told Sky News on Wednesday that she could “absolutely rule out any cuts” to Medicare.
“I thought I was quite clear when I said that our track record speaks for itself, as I’ve just outlined, when I said that we were the government that guaranteed Medicare in legislation,” she said.
“I said quite clearly on Sunday that cuts were ruled out. The Prime Minister then said it again on Monday.
“I thought I was very clear, but can I be absolutely clear today – there will be no cuts.”
Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry said Medicare was guaranteed under the Coalition.
“Medicare funding has increased from $19 billion in 2012-13 under Labor and will grow to $31.4 billion in 2022-23 to $35.5 billion in 2025-26,” Ms Landry said.
“More Australians are now seeing their doctor face-to-face without having to pay with the GP bulk billing rate last year was 88.8 per cent, up from 82.2 per cent in 2012-13.
“Telehealth is permanent and universal with 100 million new services to over 17 million people since its introduction in March 2020 and investment of over $5 billion … 92.5 per cent of all Telehealth services are bulk billed.”
Meanwhile, on Friday, April 22, Senator Murray Watt was in Rockhampton with Labor candidates Matt Burnett (Flynn) and Russell Robertson (Rockhampton) to announce that Labor, if elected, would fund a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Central Queensland.
According to Labor, this clinic would take pressure off Rockhampton Hospital’s Emergency Department by providing an alternative option for CQ families needing urgent care from a doctor or nurse.
The clinic would treat sprains and broken bones, cuts, wounds, insect bites, minor ear and eye problems and minor burns.
Care would be bulk billed, meaning families won’t be left out of pocket for having a loved one attended to, just as if they had gone to the Rockhampton Hospital Emergency Department.
The clinic would be open seven days a week from at least 8am to 10 pm – the time when the majority of non-life-threatening injuries occur.
Labor pledged to invest more than $135 million over four years to establish a trial of 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
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