Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has officially opened the 90th Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Sunshine, delivering on a core election promise to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for all Australians.
Joined by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, Health Minister Mark Butler and local MP Alice Jordan-Baird, the Prime Minister said the new clinic marked a major milestone in the Government’s “strengthening Medicare” agenda.
“During the election campaign I visited Fraser, and I visited Gorton. And I promised to deliver on the commitments that we were going forward with. And one of those commitments, front and centre, was strengthening Medicare,” Albanese said.
The Sunshine clinic is one of three new facilities launched across Victoria this week, with others in Warrnambool and Warragul. The Prime Minister highlighted that his government exceeded its original target of 50 clinics, delivering 87 in the first term and now beginning the rollout of 50 more.
“Today, we open the 90th Urgent Care Clinic… making sure that with the additional 50 Urgent Care Clinics, we want most Australians to be within driving distance of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.”
Holding up his Medicare card, Albanese reinforced its symbolism:
“Each and every day that I’m the Prime Minister, I see this as representing Australian values… when you need health care, you can get it, and you can get it for free.”
Daniel Mulino, the local MP for Fraser, said affordable healthcare was the number one issue raised by constituents during the election.
“What we see with Urgent Care Clinics, is providing people with fully bulk billed services, seven days a week, over extended hours. And we’ve seen so many people in this area and right around the country who have already accessed health care through these centres.”
Health Minister Mark Butler noted that nearly 1.8 million patients had already accessed care at Urgent Care Clinics since 2023, with around a third of them being children.
“Kids who have fallen off their skateboard, or been injured playing Saturday afternoon sport… if this clinic, and all the other ones like it, were not available, would end up in a hospital emergency department waiting for hours and hours and hours.”
“It’s good, affordable care – it’s much more convenient and it’s taking pressure off hospitals like the Sunshine Hospital here in Melbourne.”
Butler said once all 137 clinics are operational, four in five Australians will be within a 20-minute drive of one.
“The network will see two million patients or thereabouts every single year, taking huge pressure off the hospital system… It’s a central part of our Strengthening Medicare agenda – to deliver more bulk billing, more doctors, even more cheaper medicines.”
He also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to resisting any pushback from global pharmaceutical giants in the face of potential US tariff hikes.
“To the extent that this is motivated by big pharma companies seeking to lobby the US administration to water-down the protections of our PBS, it’s simply not up for negotiation under our Government.”
In response to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s announcement about legislating two-day work-from-home rights, the Prime Minister pointed to his Government’s own legislation:
“We have already legislated to protect working from home in our first term through our Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation. We think that working from home, flexible working arrangements, can benefit both workers and employers.”
On AI and copyright protection, Albanese said:
“My Government’s a government that supports the arts… copyright and intellectual property is important.”
He declined to speculate further, deferring to Treasurer Jim Chalmers:
“Jim Chalmers answered the question.”
Responding to potential US plans to impose tariffs of up to 250% on pharmaceuticals, Albanese stressed the importance of Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS):
“We support the PBS. It is part of who we are as Australia. We’re a sovereign nation… That’s why we introduced legislation last week to reduce the cost of medicines to $25 that are listed on the PBS.”
Butler added:
“We want even cheaper medicines than we were able to deliver last term… the price, if that law passes the Parliament, will drop next year to the same price it was in 2004.”
The Prime Minister also confirmed he had recently spoken with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.
“We talked about a two-state solution… I have long said that I want to see Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side in peace and security.”
Asked whether he would support a GST increase or changes to negative gearing, Albanese said:
“There’ll be a range of ideas floated… Our tax policy, the only tax policy that we’re implementing, is the one that we took to the election.”
Ahead of his trip to New Zealand for the Annual Leaders’ Talks with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Albanese said:
“Australia and New Zealand are great friends… We’ll discuss a range of issues of concern… and pay respect to our Anzacs at a memorial.”
The visit to Sunshine and the opening of the Urgent Care Clinic signalled what Albanese called a “year of delivery”.
“My Government is determined that this will be a year of delivery – delivery on the commitments which Australians voted for on the 3rd of May.”
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