Albanese give Cairns big picture
ALP leader Anthony Albanese visited Cairns on Saturday and when the Cairns Post asked him about Labor’s plans to improve healthcare in region we hope for a more comprehensive answer.
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WHEN a senior politician comes to Cairns they should expect questions from local media about how their policies will impact on the region – and be prepared to give details.
On Saturday, ALP Leader Anthony Albanese held a media conference and the Cairns Post asked him about what he would do to improve the lives of Far Northerners in regard to healthcare – specifically how he would attract more GPs to the region. But the ALP leader was reticent about the finer details.
“It’s a major issue,” Mr Albanese agreed.
“Our plan is to prioritise and strengthen Medicare and make sure that particularly in regional communities, where we are fully aware, we know people are really struggling to get access to see a GP they are paying more.” But when asked for more specifics as to how the ALP would manage this, Mr Albanese was not forthcoming.
“We will have more to say about that in the coming days,” he said. “We are absolutely committed to prioritising and strengthening Medicare across the board
“I have met with Advance Cairns this morning and one of the issues mentioned was access to services.”
Mr Albanese did vow to create a federal anti-corruption commission before the end of the years if he wins the federal election next month and said Scott Morrison’s failure to create one after promising this in 2018 was unacceptable.
But when the region is facing a shortage of GPs, the cost of living is soaring, wages are flat and many are on Struggle St, not explaining to the region you visit about how you plan to make a genuine difference is unhelpful at best and disrespectful at worst.
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