In a March 25 X post, Assistant Minister for the Treasury Patrick Gorman MP heralded the 2025-26 Federal Budget as a win for Medicare, promising to “strengthen” the system while easing cost-of-living pressures, building Australia’s future, and tackling an “inherited mess.” Treasurer Jim Chalmers echoed this in his budget speech, spotlighting $8.4 billion over five years to expand bulk billing, aiming for 18 million extra GP visits annually by 2030, alongside $644 million for new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics. The pitch is clear: more accessible healthcare, funded responsibly through $95 billion in savings since 2022. But beneath the glossy headlines, this latest injection of cash into Medicare reveals a familiar pattern of Labor throwing money at problems without fixing the underlying inefficiencies—leaving taxpayers to shoulder the burden of poorly executed promises.
The Medicare Boost: Savings or Spending Spree?
Labor claims fiscal prudence, pointing to measures like delaying $4.6 billion in infrastructure projects and banking $616 million from lower Jobseeker payouts due to a strong labor market. Chalmers’ X post about “two new tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer” ties into this, with $17.1 billion in relief framed as a reward for these savings. The Medicare push is the jewel in this crown: $7.9 billion to incentivise bulk billing (a 12.5% bonus on rebates for fully bulk-billing practices) and $1.8 billion for public hospitals to cut wait times. Gorman’s “strengthen Medicare” line suggests a lean, effective system emerging from the ashes of past neglect.
The reality? This is less about savings and more about splashing cash to look busy. That $95 billion in “budget repair” includes windfalls from high commodity prices and low unemployment—hardly genius cost-cutting. Meanwhile, the budget’s $42.1 billion deficit for 2025-26, up from two surpluses, shows spending outpacing revenue. The Medicare boost itself—while noble in intent—dumps billions into a system already creaking under mismanagement, with no clear plan to address root causes like GP shortages or rising healthcare demands. It’s a Band-Aid, not a cure, and the bill keeps growing.
Throwing Good Money After Bad
Look at Labor’s track record in schools for a glimpse of how this plays out. The air conditioning saga saw billions spent on units for every classroom, only for many to sit idle because schools couldn’t power them—followed by even costlier electrical upgrades. The interactive whiteboard rollout was no better: hundreds of millions invested, yet poor planning left most units unused, forcing more spending on training and tech fixes. Now, the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement dangles $16.5 billion for public schools, but only $7.6 billion is funded, and states like Victoria dawdled until the last minute to sign up. Money’s promised, but delivery’s a mess.
Medicare’s $8.4 billion infusion follows the same script. Bulk billing sounds great—9 out of 10 GP visits covered by 2030—but where are the doctors? The Australian Medical Association warned in 2024 that GP numbers are stagnating, with rural areas hit hardest. Pouring cash into rebates won’t magically spawn practitioners or fix the bottleneck of medical training. Those 50 new Urgent Care Clinics ($644 million) aim to ease hospital pressure, but without staff or integrated systems, they risk becoming underused monuments to good intentions—just like those air conditioners. And that $1.8 billion hospital top-up? A one-off drop in a bucket that’s been leaking for years, with no structural reform in sight.
The Cost of “Cleaning Up the Mess”
Gorman’s “inherited mess” line implies Labor’s fixing a Coalition disaster, but this budget’s approach amplifies the chaos. Net debt’s climbing to 23.1% of GDP by 2028-29, and 41,000 extra public servants since 2022 bloat the payroll. The $17.1 billion tax cuts—$268 in 2026, $536 in 2027 for average earners—might ease wallets, but critics like Senator Jacqui Lambie argue they favor the well-off, not the needy. Meanwhile, unannounced $1 billion in pre-election spending lurks, hinting at political handouts over prudent planning.
Compare that to Medicare’s reality. The $784.6 million to cut PBS co-payments (from $31.60 to $25) is a crowd-pleaser, but it’s a short-term fix in a system where costs keep spiraling. The budget’s 96% spent on new measures, per The Guardian, leaves little cushion for shocks—Chalmers’ own “storm cloud” of global tariffs looms. Labor’s not cleaning up; it’s piling on, dressing up big spending as responsibility while echoing past flops where funds flowed freely but results didn’t follow.
More of the Same, Just Louder
Gorman’s budget cheerleading paints a picture of progress, but it’s a rerun of Labor’s old playbook: announce big, deliver small, and hope nobody notices the gap. Medicare gets billions, yet the system’s cracks—overworked GPs, rural shortages, hospital gridlock—stay unaddressed. The savings they brag about are offset by a deficit that’s ballooning, and taxpayers are left holding a bag that’s heavier than ever. It’s not waste in the classic sense; it’s just more money chasing the same old problems, with little to show for it but a shiny press release.