On 1 February 1984, Prime Minister Bob Hawke introduced Medicare, providing basic health care for all Australians.

The Liberals never truly supported Medicare, and it has been under attack by successive Liberal governments. As a result of the current Federal Government’s cuts to health the cost of seeing GPs and specialists has skyrocketed across the country, and so have emergency department and elective surgery waiting times.

Labor created Medicare. We have fought to protect it for the past 36 years and we will continue to do so.