Australia’s Labor party has promised a free medical advice line and expanded Medicare funding as cost-of-living pressures dominate the election campaign.
Australia’s Labor government has pledged to strengthen the country’s universal healthcare system with a free medical advice line and telehealth service if it wins the May 3 general election, where cost-of-living pressures are a key issue.
Centre-left Labor traditionally champions the protection of Australia’s Medicare system, setting itself apart from the conservative Liberal-National opposition, which emphasizes economic management and border protection.
The government has made Medicare a core election issue, pledging an extra $5.43 billion for the program in February amid concerns about declining bulk billing — a system where doctors bill Medicare directly, leaving patients with no out-of-pocket costs.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the new hotline would provide 24-hour access to medical staff for urgent care needs. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to formally announce the policy on Sunday in Sydney, a critical election battleground.
Peter Dutton, leader of the Liberal-National coalition and Albanese’s main rival, has pledged $5.76 billion in Medicare funding if his coalition wins on May 3.
Early voting began Tuesday, with polls showing Labor holding a narrow lead. The campaign has been dominated by cost-of-living promises and competing plans to boost housing affordability.
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Australia has made a further payment to the United States under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Wednesd...
Australia has made a further payment to the United States under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Wednesday that a second instalment of $525 million has been paid, following an initial $500 million payment in February.
Australia has delivered M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245 million ($160 million) defence package aimed at bolstering Kyiv’s resistance against Russia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, affirming that both countries will keep communication channels open and explore cooperation opportunities despite ongoing strategic rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
The U.S. economy faces a 40% risk of recession in the second half of 2025, JP Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, citing rising tariffs and stagflation concerns.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the world could be on the brink of another chikungunya epidemic, similar to the 2005 outbreak, unless swift measures are implemented to control its spread.
Every Sunday evening at Chicago’s North Avenue Beach, the sound of collective shouting echoes across Lake Michigan – not from protestors, but from Scream Club Chicago, a group gathering to relieve stress by screaming into the open air.
A major study warns that antibiotic-resistant superbugs could kill millions each year while shrinking the global economy by almost $2 trillion annually by 2050, a crisis driven in part by international aid cuts that undermine resistance efforts.
The United States has rejected a global pandemic treaty adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), saying it threatens national sovereignty and lacks clear language.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday that Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, who currently oversees European and Euro-Atlantic integration, has been appointed as Ukraine’s next ambassador to the United States.
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