Australia politics live: businesses urge Albanese to emphasise military ties in Trump call on tariffs; Coalition senators back Hanson on trans bill The government should prioritise helping Australians under 34 access bulk-billed GP appointments, make longer consults and mental health appointments cheaper, the peak body for general practitioners says.
Two initiatives are key – we need significant investment in Medicare to lower fees and increase bulk billing, and we need to train more GPs, so everyone can get the care they need, when and where they need it.
The college is calling on all parties to support the 19 initiatives it has proposed, including halving the cost of longer consults, bringing down the average out-of-pocket costs for people who aren’t bulk billed from $59 to $25 per person for appointments longer than 20 minutes.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RACGP) launched its federal election platform today which will aim to get the bulk-billing rate back to 85% for Australians most in need it by delivering an extra 6.2 million bulk-billed GP appointments per year.
More than half of the Coalition’s senators sided with Pauline Hanson last night in a failed push for an inquiry into transgender children – more details in a minute.
