2 days Ago By Tess Ikonomou
Anthony Albanese has landed in the battleground state of Victoria to fight for seats that could be lost to the coalition and Greens. Login or signup to continue reading Labor has made health the central theme of the first full week of the election campaign, with a related announcement almost every day. The prime minister arrived in Victoria on Tuesday afternoon, before heading to the marginal seat of Corangamite near Geelong, held by Labor MP Libby Coker on a 6.
55 per cent margin. Together they announced $5.45 million for upgrades to the Drysdale Recreation Reserve.
Earlier, Mr Albanese was in South Australia, where Labor holds the majority of lower house electorates in the state. Mr Albanese flagged there would be further health commitments to come in days. While the polls show Labor has increased its support among voters, the prime minister is running a tight race to hang on to majority government at the May 3 election.
Labor is fighting a challenge from Liberal Nicolle Flint who's trying to win back her old Adelaide-based electorate of Boothby, which it holds with a margin of 3.28 per cent. Another seat considered up for grabs by Labor is ultra-marginal Sturt, which the Liberals have held for more than 50 years.
Mr Albanese joined SA Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas to announce a $150 million commitment to build a new health service for Adelaide's south. Asked if he was taking a leaf out of the popular premier's state election-winning focus on health, the prime minister joked he was happy to see that link. "I can't stress enough that we want a prime minister of this country who understands that people need to have public health care invested in," the premier said.
Mr Albanese also visited Nathaniel's Coffee and Panini in the electorate of Sturt, alongside Mr Malinauskas and Labor's candidate Claire Clutterham. The promised facility would be at the Flinders Health Precinct in Bedford Park, located in the contested seat of Boothby, which is held by Labor. Flinders University will match funding promised by the federal government, if Labor is returned to power.
Once delivered, the Flinders HealthCARE Centre is expected to provide residents with 10,000 extra health appointments and help 1300 healthcare workers graduate each year. Although cost of living is the top issue for voters, healthcare is the second most pressing priority. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has come under repeated attack from Labor over his record as a previous coalition health minister more than a decade ago.
Mr Dutton has previously said the opposition will match Labor's $8.5 billion commitment to boost access to Medicare, if the coalition the election. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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