MEDIA STATEMENT
8 June 2026
I welcome the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic opening in Caloundra.
Any additional health service that improves access to care for local families and helps reduce pressure on our hospitals is a positive outcome for the Sunshine Coast.
But after a fly-in visit from the Prime Minister this weekend, Sunshine Coast residents deserve a more honest conversation about Labor’s record on healthcare and its broader failures in Fisher.
The Coalition supports Urgent Care Clinics because, when delivered properly, they can provide timely treatment for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions and help take pressure off emergency departments.
However, Labor’s own independent evaluation of the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic program has already found there is “no clear evidence” that emergency department waiting times have improved as a result of the clinics.
The same report identified ongoing workforce shortages, difficulties delivering the extended operating hours originally promised by Labor, and continuing gaps in access to diagnostic services such as imaging and pathology.
Australians were promised Urgent Care Clinics operating extended hours with the services needed to keep people out of hospital.
Labor now needs to focus on delivering what it promised, not simply cutting ribbons and holding media events.
The Caloundra clinic itself highlights the challenge. It will initially operate from a temporary site in Little Mountain before eventually relocating to a purpose-built facility in Aura. It is expected to open from 8am to 5pm initially, with extended hours to be introduced later.
We want this clinic to succeed. Local families deserve access to quality healthcare close to home. But success should be measured by outcomes, not announcements.
The Government also pointed to mental health investments on the Sunshine Coast as evidence of Labor’s commitment to healthcare.
What they failed to mention is that many of these services only progressed because local communities fought alongside me for them after years of pushing for action.
The Caloundra Headspace service is one example.
Mental health should never be an afterthought. Local families should not have to spend years campaigning for services that should have been delivered sooner.
While I welcome every investment in mental health, the reality is that my community in Fisher has too often had to drag this Government kicking and screaming into delivering the services our growing region deserves, and even then we remain well and truly underfunded.
As our region continues to grow, we need more mental health services, more healthcare workers and better access to care, not just announcements and photo opportunities.
What is particularly frustrating is that while Labor claims it is reducing pressure on emergency departments, it is simultaneously pursuing policies that risk putting pressure straight back on the public health system.
Labor’s changes to private health insurance rebates for older Australians will make private cover less affordable and risk pushing more patients back into public hospitals and emergency departments.
You cannot claim to be taking pressure off the public health system with one hand while adding pressure back onto it with the other. Since launching my petition on 14 May, nearly 7,000 Australians have joined the fight against Labor’s health tax on seniors. The message from local retirees and older Australians has been overwhelming: they do not want to be punished for taking pressure off the public health system by maintaining private health insurance.
The Prime Minister also spent much of his visit talking about housing. Yet after three years of Labor, housing is less affordable, rents are higher, and the dream of home ownership is slipping further out of reach for many young Australians.
Labor’s answer is more taxes, more spending and more migration than the housing market can sustain.
The Sunshine Coast needs more homes, better infrastructure and policies that restore affordability, not more pressure on an already stretched housing market.
The Coalition believes housing supply must catch up. That means unlocking more land, cutting unnecessary red tape, investing in the roads, water and community infrastructure needed to support new developments, and ensuring migration is aligned with the number of homes being built.
And while the Prime Minister found time for a photo opportunity at a clinic, there was seemingly no time to sit down with the small business owners who are contacting my office every day about Labor’s Budget, rising costs and growing uncertainty.
Small businesses across Fisher are already battling higher energy bills, insurance costs, rents and red tape. Many are deeply concerned about Labor’s new taxes and what they will mean for investment, confidence and jobs.
That is why I am hosting a Small Business Budget Analysis Forum next week with Warren Hogan, Chief Economic Advisor at Judo Bank.
Together we will unpack what Labor’s Budget means for local businesses, employers, investors and families.
The Sunshine Coast deserves more than fly-in visits and photo opportunities.
It deserves a government focused on delivering healthcare services that work, restoring housing affordability, backing small business and improving Australians’ standard of living.
I will continue fighting to ensure Fisher gets the healthcare, infrastructure and economic opportunities our growing community deserves.
[ENDS]
The Small Business Budget Analysis Forum is on Tuesday 16 June 2026 6-7pm at the Meridan Community Church, Meridan Plains: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1596453
Evaluation of the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics: Interim Evaluation Report 2: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-02/medicare-urgent-care-clinics-program-evaluation-second-interim-report_0.pdf
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
