Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a brief return to Peter Dutton’s marginal Queensland seat of Dickson on Thursday morning.
Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Labor candidate Ali France, Albanese visited the campaign office for the final push.
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Dickson is held by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on a narrow margin of 1.7 per cent.
Labor has long viewed the seat as winnable, though it has not been held by the party since 2001.
During the visit, several volunteers waved their Medicare cards at the Prime Minister.
Albanese responded by pulling out his own card, saying: “You’ve got your Medicare card? I have too!”
The visit was part of Labor’s final push on Medicare. The government has pledged $8.5 billion over four years to expand bulk billing and reduce out-of-pocket costs for GP visits.
Under the plan, all Australians will be eligible for bulk billing from November 2025.
GP clinics that commit to bulk billing every patient will receive a 12.5 per cent incentive on top of the standard Medicare rebate.
The government also plans to triple the number of fully bulk-billing practices across the country to about 4,800.
The Coalition has promised to match Labor’s $8.5 billion Medicare funding, but some opposition senators doubt whether universal bulk billing can really be delivered.
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