The details:

Labor created Medicare. Labor will always defend it.

When Kerry Packer had a heart attack, he turned up at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. When my mum, a single mother on a disability pension, needed to go to hospital, she also turned up at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital . It doesn’t matter if you’re a pensioner or a billionaire, you get care under our system.

That doesn’t mean our system is perfect. Australians are promised universal health care – one that depends on your Medicare card, not your credit card. We know that too many Australians have to travel too far to get the care they need. You shouldn’t have to travel into Adelaide from regional South Australia to get an MRI. We have work to do, and Labor is ready to do the work. Under a Labor Government I lead, Medicare will be protected and expanded. We will work every day to deliver the promise of truly universal health care for every Australian.

But just as Medicare is one of our strengths, the coronavirus has exposed deep vulnerabilities. We went into the pandemic with less than one mask for every Australian in the National Medical Stockpile. Some of the masks we did have were defective. And our underregulated and overwhelmed aged care sector crumbled with tragic consequences. These failures have contributed to the deaths of almost 900 Australians – 673 of whom were in aged care – and more than 27,000 infections.

We have to do better. That’s why a Labor Government will establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control to bring us into line with other countries and prepare for the next pandemic.

It’s time for leadership. And Labor is ready to lead.