Labor’s health and aged care election commitments have collapsed with Anthony Albanese conceding they don’t have the workforce to meet their promises.
Labor has backflipped with Mr Albanese admitting that “in the short term, we must recruit more overseas doctors and nurses.”
This policy about face is in direct contrast to comments from Clare O’Neil, Labor’s Shadow Aged Care Minister, who said:
TRIOLI: So, several thousand nurses will have to be brought in from overseas.
O’NEIL: No, no, no, no, no.
(ABC Q&A, 7 April 2022)
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Federal Secretary Annie Butler has already warned against taking nurses from other countries, with a similar warning coming from New Zealand about not stealing their nurses.
Mr Albanese has now exposed that his re-hashed GP Super Clinics and his aged care promises will not be met.
Mr Albanese must immediately answer:
- How many nurses and doctors does he plan to recruit from overseas?
- Which countries will they come from?
- Will they take Australian jobs?
- How will the workforce be divided between the GP super clinics and aged care?
- Has he put the costings for the GP super clinics into the Parliamentary Budget Office as promised?
- Have they costed the immigration program?
- Is this in addition to their current migration program or is this separate?
Australians deserve to know these answers.
Mr Albanese has been running a completely misleading scare campaign on Medicare and aged care.
Labor claimed these are key issues for the election, yet they have now been completely exposed as incompetent in their planning and policy design.
Australia cannot risk putting Labor in charge of Australia’s healthcare.