LABOR
People in Somerville and surrounding towns will get the free urgent care they need, fully bulk billed, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department, if the Albanese Labor government is re-elected.
Foreign Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate Penny Wong joined Labor candidate for Flinders, Sarah Race, at Tyabb Village Children’s Centre to celebrate the news with local families. If Labor is re-elected, the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Somerville will begin operating in the 2025-26 financial year, providing bulk billed care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, seven days a week, for extended hours, and with no appointment needed.
This extends Labor’s election commitment to strengthening Medicare, with the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago. “Across the country, Labor’s Urgent Care Clinics are saving people money and lengthy waits in hospital emergency departments,” said Foreign Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate Penny Wong. “Now, with a re-elected Labor government, people on the peninsula will have the chance to receive these benefits too. “I was proud to join Sarah in sharing Labor’s plans for real and meaningful investment for local families in Somerville.”
Doctors have embraced the clinics, with a survey finding seven in ten GPs support Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, and eight in ten GPs say they have a positive impact on hospital emergency departments. Parents and families love them: one third of patients are under the age of 15. All you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.
“Only Labor will deliver a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Somerville so you can get the free urgent care you need, fully bulk billed, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department,” said Race.
First published in the Mornington News – 11 March 2025
