SUBJECTS: Easter Sunday, Operation Sovereign Borders, Medicare, Anne Ruston, Costings, Temporary Protection Visas.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Well, thanks very much for his Grace, the Bishop, for what was a wonderful service here at the Cairns Cathedral this morning. I do want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy, and for Christians a holy, Easter, during what is a very important day in the Christian calendar, a day when people renew their faith. It's very important to be able to have a commemoration here and a mass at Cairns Cathedral. And I wish everyone, again, a happy and holy Easter. Stay safe during this holiday period as well. Happy to take just a couple of questions.

JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, do you remain committed to Operation Sovereign Borders? And if so, do you support the retention of Temporary Protection Visas? 

ALBANESE: Yes.

JOURNALIST: Mark Butler had said that all fifty of your urgent care clinics will be up and running by mid next year. Where are the initial additional nurses and GPs going to come from and how many do you need?

ALBANESE: I do know that the Prime Minister had said that this wasn't going to be a day of usual campaigning, and that he has chosen, the Government has chosen, to make a very significant announcement today of the appointment of a new health minister, should the Government be re-elected. Now Anne Ruston has made it very clear that she wants to take the universal out of universal health care. She has made it very clear that if we have a re-election of the Morrison Government, we will see more cuts to Medicare, more cuts to Medicare over the next three years. People are already seeing escalating costs of health care. They're already seeing cuts to health care and cuts to Medicare. And the appointment of Anne Ruston sends a very bad message that this Government, if it is re-elected, will make further cuts to Medicare.

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: Just further on Anne Ruston. This appointment shows that if this Government is re-elected, there'll be more cuts to Medicare. Only a Liberal government led by Scott Morrison could appoint someone as the Minister for Medicare who was on the record again and again, advocating to take the universal out of universal healthcare. Now this appointment today should send a shiver down the spine of every Australian who relies on affordable healthcare. Australians can't afford another three years of attacks on Medicare. They can't afford escalating health costs. And today's appointment of Anne Ruston, an opponent of universal Medicare, is a signal that another three years of Scott Morrison meets another three years of attacks on Medicare.

JOURNALIST: With the urgent care clinics, how many nurses and GPs will be required? And where will we find them - if the cost relies on the Medicare benefits already just coming from a hospital where they're already doing hospitals, across the GPs, where does the extra workforce come from?

ALBANESE: You will see as part of the full costings that were done by us, you will see that there is not expected to be any cost, any additional cost, on the MBS. And you'll see that when all of our costings will be released for every policy. We are doing policy in exactly the same way as Liberal oppositions have done for election after election. Thanks. 

[Break]

Earlier on I heard half the question – I didn’t hear all of it. Labor’s policy is to support Operation Sovereign Borders. We support offshore processing. We support resettlement in third countries. We don't support Temporary Protection Visas. Thanks.

ENDS