Dutton matches Labor’s $8.5b for free GPs to ward off ‘Mediscare’

Coalition Leader Peter Dutton will match Labor’s bulk-billing pledge and pour $8.5 billion into Medicare to fend off a renewed “Mediscare” campaign, turning up the dial on election spending as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese escalates his attack on the opposition by warning it can’t be trusted on healthcare.

Albanese on Sunday ramped up his political campaign against Dutton by urging Australians to remember the Abbott government’s attempts to erode bulk-billing, while pitching Labor as the only party to protect Medicare with its policy to encourage free GP visits for all Australians.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will match Albanese’s $8.5 billion pledge to increase free GP visits.Credit: Louise Kennerley

At a Labor rally to launch the cornerstone campaign pledge on Sunday, Albanese said universal healthcare would be the beating heart of Labor’s campaign while warning the federal election was a “make-or-break moment for Medicare” which would be gutted under Dutton.

“Even Tony Abbott promised ‘no cuts to health’. But every time they get into government, their attacks on Medicare are always the same. The Liberals have changed what they say – but they will never change who they are,” he said.

Dutton quickly moved to match Labor’s promise dollar for dollar – despite complaints about government spending – in a major effort to ward off another “Mediscare” campaign, which Labor deployed effectively during the 2016 election to eat into the Coalition’s majority.

“We’re not cutting health. We’ve been very clear about that. I believe very strongly in general practice. I believe in providing support to the hospital system, a good balance between public and private,” Dutton said on Sunday.

“The Coalition always manages the economy more effectively, and that’s why we can afford to invest into health and education services and other important needs for Australians.”

The Coalition is also promising a further $500 million to lift how many psychology sessions people can claim under Medicare, forming a $9 billion election package: one of its most expensive pledges after its $300 billion nuclear energy policy.

Dutton has also matched Labor’s $573 million women’s health package, and supported its $1.7 billion boost to public hospitals, setting the scene for a big-spending campaign despite promises from both major parties to rein in on largesse to tackle the budget deficit.

The opposition leader challenged Albanese to recall parliament to pass new laws enacting the policy — first proposed by the Greens last year — but government sources said it did not require legislation. Labor plans to implement the changes from November.

Big spending before campaign has begun

Dutton’s vow to spend more on health will help neutralise Labor’s campaign in a tight contest. But it also increases pressure on an opposition that says it wants to cut spending but has not explained how, aside from an undefined policy about slashing public service jobs.

Nor has it detailed how it will pay for its nuclear policy, which will cost at least $300 billion over two decades, exposing Dutton to a Labor campaign over mystery cuts.

Coalition shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, when accused of “giving away” $9 billion in an interview with Sky News, said the opposition was matching the investment despite its calls for spending cuts and tax reductions because it was “cleaning up Labor’s mess”.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also promised to be restrained in the election, saying Labor would not embark on a “spendathon”. Asked about the looming budget deficit on Sunday, he said the last two budget surpluses had enabled Labor to make important investments.

“What we’ve shown is an ability to manage the budget in the most responsible way, and that makes room to strengthen Medicare and help with the cost of living,” he said.

Chalmers said $5.4 billion of the $8.5 billion bulk-billing package had been provisioned for in the mid-year financial update, meaning a further $3 billion must still be accounted for.

Doctors and health groups welcomed the government’s investment on Sunday, with the Australian Medical Association saying it recognised the amount of funding needed to reverse decades of underinvestment in Medicare.

Labor escalates Mediscare campaign as Dutton seeks to diffuse it

Health Minister Mark Butler tried to get a step ahead of Dutton on Sunday by saying Australians could not trust what the Liberals leader said. Less than an hour before Dutton’s announcement, Butler told the rally that the Coalition would “pull out the golden oldies” by promising no cuts to health.

“Remember them saying that months before Dutton tried to abolish bulk-billing and cut $50 billion from our public hospitals? You bet. He’ll say he loves Medicare! He’ll protect Medicare. But he doesn’t. He won’t. Medicare is not in this man’s DNA,” Butler said.

“You will be told Labor pointing out Dutton’s crystal-clear record as health minister is a scare campaign. To which I say, Peter Dutton’s record on Medicare isn’t just scary, it’s bloody terrifying.”

Labor was caught this month airing a misleadingly edited attack ad on social media that quoted Dutton in 2014. In the ad, now removed, Dutton declares “Medicare is dead”, when he actually said “Medicare is dead if we can’t make it sustainable today”.

Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston slammed the government. “We saw today a government that is intent on coming out and using one of the most important issues facing Australia, and that is our health system … as a scare campaign,” she said. “All Mr Albanese could talk about is Peter Dutton.”

Ruston said the Albanese government had failed Australians on every health measure. “Every Australian knows that it’s harder and more expensive to see a GP,” she said.

The Coalition will remind voters of rising out-of-pocket costs – non-bulkbilled GP visits cost an average $46 – as it fights off Labor’s offensive.

It will also point to the fact bulk-billing hit a record high of 89 per cent under the Morrison government during the pandemic before falling to 77 per cent in 2023 under Labor.

Bulk-billing rates started declining in 2021 as rebates failed to keep up with inflation, Australians’ health needs became more complex and doctors stopped performing bulk-billed pandemic services such as vaccinations, which temporarily inflated statistics.

The government explains the massive drop in bulk-billing as the inherited legacy of a six-year freeze on Medicare rebates, initiated by the Gillard government in 2013 and continued until 2018 under the Coalition.

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