Page 289 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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We know how lucky we are to be Canberrans. Statistics tell us that we are well paid, well educated, happy, healthy and active. But this should never be interpreted to mean that we are a city free of disadvantage, discrimination or poverty. There are many Canberrans who need real help to maintain and improve their lives. That is why it is so important that we have a government that will protect the public services Canberrans rely on. That is why it is so important that we keep our public services accessible and responsive to the changing and emerging needs of our community.
Affordable and accessible healthcare is a right that should be afforded to everyone. Across Canberra we are investing in our public health system to ensure that Canberrans have access to affordable health care closer to home.
Our network of nurse-led walk-in centres provides free health treatment for Canberrans and their families. We have four walk-in centres across Canberra, with a fifth opening in the inner north later this year. These walk-in centres are led by a team of highly skilled advanced practice nurses and nurse practitioners. We will continue to invest in walk-in centres because we know that they not only are loved by Canberrans but also provide fantastic health care, help reduce the unexpected medical costs for families and take pressure off our public hospitals.
We have also invested in increasing the rate of bulk-billing. We know the ACT has the lowest rate of bulk-billing for GPs in the country, with rates historically hovering around the 50 per cent mark. In response to this, the ACT Labor government has undertaken a variety of programs over the past decade that have aimed to increase our GP-to-population ratio, encourage bulk-billing and provide primary health care, in particular, to vulnerable populations who would otherwise miss out. These have been successful, with a gradual increase in bulk-billing rates in the ACT over the past decade. According to Medicare statistics the GP bulk-billing rate in the ACT for the June quarter 2019 was 63.9 per cent, compared to 51.1 per cent in the June quarter 2009. Nevertheless we are still well below the national rate of almost 86 per cent in the June quarter 2019 for bulk-billing by GPs.
Despite this, from 1 January 2020 the coalition government in the other place cut incentives for Canberra GPs to bulk-bill vulnerable people by 34 per cent. This cut from the commonwealth will make it more likely that those most in need—pensioners, children and those who are most vulnerable in our community—will not be able to access the care they need that keeps them healthy and out of our hospitals. These cuts are another demonstration of how out of touch not only the commonwealth government is but also Liberal governments around Australia are, and how dangerous the Canberra Liberals would be for health services here in the ACT.
Public education remains a key priority for this government. We believe in providing all students, no matter their financial circumstance, with equitable access to the tools they need to learn. In an ever-changing digital world, the cost of school supplies and technology can have an impact on families. So we are delivering on our 2016 election commitment to increase access to technology for all ACT government secondary school students by providing them with a computer. This year we have provided approximately 4,200 devices to students, helping families to reduce costs as their children enter secondary school.
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