Albanese takes Medicare pitch to WA with $200m hospital upgrade
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The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken his election Medicare fight to WA, unveiling a $200 million upgrade to a local hospital in the key battleground state.
The context: Labor has made healthcare the central theme of its campaign, with Albanese’s $8.5 billion Medicare package forming the centrepiece. His first stop was an urgent care clinic in Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s Brisbane seat of Dickson
After visiting safe seats in Queensland, NSW and the ACT during the first two days of the campaign, the Prime Minister jetted west on Sunday — where Labor is looking to retain gains made in WA at the 2022 federal election.
On Monday, Albanese will join WA Premier Roger Cook in the north-eastern Perth seat of Hasluck to announce the upgrade to the God Midland Public Hospital.
Cook delivered another dominant state election victory just weeks ago, holding onto most of the gains won under former Premier Mark McGowan’s historic 2021 result. Federal Labor rode McGowan’s popularity to secure a majority government in 2022. With expected losses in suburban Melbourne and Sydney, hanging on to WA seats could prove crucial to Labor’s re-election hopes.
Labor said the $200 million commitment would fund 60 more inpatient beds, two additional operating theatres and a new intensive care unit and emergency department (ED). The federal funding will come on top of a $105 million injection from the WA government to upgrade the ED.
Further health announcements are expected as Albanese continues campaigning across the country, with Labor eager to keep healthcare front and centre for voters. Although Dutton has sought to neutralise Labor’s push by matching the $8.5 billion Medicare splurge, Labor has repeatedly pointed to his record as health minister under the Abbott government — which included breaking an election commitment by introducing a $7 Medicare co-payment.
Hasluck is currently held by Labor MP Tania Lawrence on a 10% margin, but it has historically been marginal. With Labor’s 2022 result widely seen as a high watermark, a major backlash against the Albanese government could put the seat at risk.
Redistribution has also created a new WA seat, Bullwinkel, which is nominally held by Labor on a 3.3% margin but is considered in play. A YouGov poll released Sunday showed Labor slightly ahead in the seat, and on track for a 75-to-60 seat victory over the Coalition — putting it in the box seat to form a minority government.
What they said: “This election is a choice between Labor's plan to keep building or Peter Dutton's promise to cut. Only a vote for Labor is a vote for stronger Medicare … Everything in Peter Dutton's record tells us that he will start by cutting Medicare,” said Health Minister Mark Butler, who will also be in Perth on Monday.
The source: Albanese government press release
