Albanese’s bulk billing pledge renews the promise at the heart of Medicare | Bill Bowtell

When the Hawke Labor government implemented Medicare in 1984 , it established a new foundational principle for the Australian health system that access to health services for all is a right, not a privilege.

Since then, successive Labor governments have sought to deliver the simple proposition that all Australians should have timely access to the highest quality medical services and advice based solely on clinical need, rather than on their financial capacity to pay.

The principle of access to services based on need, not wealth, is the very definition of fairness.