BILL SHORTEN MP
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS &
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS
MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG
CATHERINE KING MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND MEDICARE
MEMBER FOR BALLARAT
LABOR’S SURGERY WAITING LIST BLITZ
Australians stuck on hospital waiting lists will get the essential surgery they need faster with a Shorten Labor Government.
As part of Labor’s $2.8 billion Better Hospitals Fund, we will dedicate $250 million to blitz elective surgery waiting lists in public hospitals.
The $250 million waiting list blitz is in addition to the $500 million commitment to slash public hospital waiting lists for cancer patients as part of our Medicare Cancer Plan.
But procedures such as knee and hip replacements or cataract surgeries aren’t elective – they are essential.
Labor’s $250 million investment could pay for more than 62,000 cataract procedures or 9,800 knee replacements or 9,400 hip replacements.
While patients are stuck waiting for essential surgery, Scott Morrison is cutting $2.8 billion from public hospitals so he can pay for handouts to multinationals and the top end of town.
Only Labor will deliver a fair go for all Australians, reverse the cuts to public hospitals and blitz Scott Morrison’s public hospital surgery backlog.
As Treasurer, Scott Morrison cut $715 million from Australia’s hospitals – cutting hospital beds, cutting healthcare workers, and blowing out hospital waiting lists.
The average wait time for elective surgery has increased by more than 10 per cent since the Liberals were elected in 2013.
Now as Prime Minister, Scott Morrison is planning to cut another $2.8 billion from public hospitals if he wins the next election. This will make surgery waiting times even longer.
A Shorten Labor Government will restore every dollar that Morrison wants to cut from public hospitals.
As well as stopping Morrison’s $2.8 billion cut to public hospitals, Labor will invest $2.3 billion in our Medicare Cancer Plan – delivering cheaper cancer scans, consultations and medicines in the biggest cancer package in Australian history.
While Scott Morrison and the Liberals spend billions of dollars on tax loopholes for the top end of town, they are cutting billions of dollars from public hospitals and leaving all Australians worse off.
Labor believes access to healthcare should depend on your Medicare card, not your credit card.
Bill Shorten and Labor will deliver a fair go for all Australians, not just the top end of town.