Australia government touts free healthcare hotline as general election nears


  • World
  • Sunday, 27 Apr 2025

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a press conference after visiting Government House to dissolve Parliament and call an election in Canberra, Australia, March 28, 2025. AAP/Mick Tsikas via REUTERS//File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Labor government on Sunday pledged to bolster the country's universal healthcare system with a free medical advice line and telehealth service if it wins the May 3 general election, in which cost-of-living pressures loom as a key issue.

Centre-left Labor traditionally sees its protection of Australia's Medicare universal healthcare scheme as a key differentiator between it and the conservative Liberal-National opposition, which bills itself as superior on economic management and border protection.

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