PM in SA: Health election promise
Anthony Albanese has brought his election campaign to South Australia where he made another health-related announcement in his first full week on the road.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has kept health as the central theme of Labor’s first week of the federal election campaign as he visits South Australia to sandbag party-held seats.
Labor holds the majority of the lower house seats based in SA and is looking to fend off a challenge from Liberal Nicolle Flint, who’s trying to win back her old Adelaide electorate of Boothby and overcome a 3.28 per cent margin.
Another seat that’s considered up for grabs is Sturt, which covers the city of churches’ north-eastern and eastern suburbs.
The Liberals have held the electorate for more than 50 years, but Labor is eyeing it off.
In the first full week of the election campaign, the prime minister has set up health-related announcements almost every day.
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On Tuesday, Albanese joined Premier Peter Malinauskas to announce a $150 million commitment to build a new health service for Adelaide’s south.
It’s the prime minister’s second trip to SA in a matter of weeks, previously visiting Whyalla to address the administration of the steelworks.
The facility would be at the Flinders Health Precinct in Bedford Park, located in the contested seat of Boothby.
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Flinders University will match funding promised by the federal government, if Labor is returned at the vote on May 3.
Once delivered, the Flinders HealthCARE Centre is expected to provide residents with 10,000 extra health appointments and help 1300 healthcare workers graduate each year.
Although cost of living is the top issue for voters, healthcare is generally the second most important.
Mr Albanese pledged money for a hospital upgrade in Perth on Monday, while spruiking additional promised urgent care clinics in Queensland on Saturday.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has come under repeated attack from Labor over his record as a previous coalition health minister more than a decade ago.
Albanese has claimed only Labor can safeguard Medicare’s future as an accessible healthcare system.
Dutton has previously said the coalition will match Labor’s $8.5 billion commitment to boost Medicare, if it wins the election.
