What does Anne Ruston think needs to happen to address domestic violence in this nation? According to Sherele Moody, who founded Australian Femicide Watch and the Red Heart Campaign, 23 Australian women have been killed so far this year, including four in the last week.

Ruston:

I previously served for three years as Social Services Minister under the previous government and having responsibility for domestic violence, whilst we always have to make sure that we have measures in place to support women who make the difficult and dangerous decision to leave a violent relationship, we need to do more about focusing on stopping it happening in the first place. So focusing on programs that provide respectful behaviours and show everybody how to be more respectful so we actually aren’t seeing domestic violence happening in the first place. I believe that the kind of statistics we’re seeing in this country are an absolute indictment on Australia and Australians citizens, that we are seeing domestic violence levels the way they are. We must do more and we must do better.

Q: You’ve matched a lot of the strategies to achieve better bulk billing for Australians. Would you expect 90% bulk billing by 2030 under those promises?

Anne Ruston:

When we were last in government, the bulk billing rate was over 88% and we did that by making sure that we made investments in primary care.

We know right now primary care is in crisis which is why we were keen to make the $9 billion investment in primary care that we have made during this election campaign. But the bulk billing rates have absolutely plummeted under this Government. They’ve gone from 88% when we were last in government to 77%. Most tellingly, Australians are paying the highest amount of money out of their own pockets than ever before to visit a GP.

Last year, 40 million less bulk-billed GP visits than when we were last in government. We have a crisis. There’s a lot of work to do. But of course, we want to see Australians getting access to not just affordable health care but bulk billed health care. We’ve done it before and we believe that we can do it again but there’s no point lying to Australians that everything is fine at the moment. It’s not.

Butler says the 88% bulk billing rate includes the covid vaccinations, which were bulkbilled

After having Mark Butler on, ABC NEws Breakfast now has the shadow minister, Anne Ruston:

Q: Let’s go to that survey of GP practitioners and doctors. ABC has spoken to hundreds of doctors who say this pledge, matched by you, won’t make a dent and they won’t actually be able to increase bulk billing as a result.

Ruston:

What we’d say is we absolutely support Australians getting access to more affordable health care and that includes getting access to bulk-billed services. The really cruel hoax going on at the moment with the Labor Party about this important announcement is, you know, trying to pretend that it isn’t harder or more expensive to see a doctor than it is right now.

And we know that doctors have come out and said that some of the claims that are being made by the Labor Party about this policy are flat-out wrong. Don’t ask them. Don’t ask me. Don’t ask the Labor Party. Ask your listeners and viewers.

They know that right now their lived experience of trying to get in to see a doctor, particularly for free, are completely at odds with what the Labor Party is saying. So we also know that GPs are small businesses like every other small business, that are suffering under the increased costs of doing business, whether that be power bills up, insurance bills up, rents or mortgages, so I think what we say to Anthony Albanese is be honest with Australians.

Don’t lie and use scare tactics about something as important as health care because we need to work together to make sure Australians can access affordable health care and telling lies in an election campaign won’t achieve that.

AAP has the latest on the Coalition’s domestic violence response (the Coalition refuses to put us on their list so we are often playing catch up with the releases, but what can you do?)

Using a mobile phone or computer to harm intimate partners would be made illegal under new domestic violence offences proposed by Peter Dutton in an election pledge.

The opposition leader on Thursday will announce the coalition will commit an extra $90 million to address the scourge of domestic violence, if it wins the May 3 election.

It would build on the national plan to end violence against women and children within the decade by implementing measures focused on prevention, early intervention and crisis response.

The proposed offences would criminalise the tracking of victims or coercing them through the use of the devices, and would attract tough bail laws.

Mobile phones would be recycled so victim-survivors cannot be tracked or further harassed.

A national register allowing police across the country and other authorities to access and share information about a person’s previous family violence convictions to better manage risk would be set up.

The plan includes specialist early behavioural intervention programs and stronger monitoring

About a million of us have already headed to the polls and if you want to do your vote through the mail, then you have to sort that this week.

For those heading to an early poll booth this weekend, the AEC has this reminder:

The AEC is reminding all voters who cannot make it to a polling place on election day to check the opening dates and times of early voting centres.

Early voting centres are not open on ANZAC Day or Sunday 27 April. Most locations are open on Saturday 26 April but not all. Early voting centres open progressively throughout the voting period and cannot open on public holidays.

A list of early voting centres – their opening dates, times and accessibility information – is all available on the AEC website.

New polling research by The Australia Institute reveals that 86% of Australians want stronger legal protections for whistleblowers.

The research, supported by the Human Rights Law Centre and Whistleblower Justice Fund, shows support is consistently high across all voting intentions, including Labor, Coalition, Greens, and One Nation. 

Public support for protecting whistleblowers has surged by 12% in under two years. 

The spike in support has been recorded just one year after the imprisonment of military whistleblower David McBride and amid the ongoing prosecution of tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle. The polling research also reveals that the majority of Australians believe these prosecutions should be dropped. 

Despite strong, widespread and increasing public support for stronger whistleblower protections from voters, both major parties have failed to make commitments for reform ahead of the May 3 Federal Election. 

In February 2025, the Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill was introduced to Parliament by Senator David Pocock, Senator Jacqui Lambie, Dr Helen Haines MP, and Andrew Wilkie MP. 

This anti-corruption legislation would provide protections to whistleblowers and aid government agencies in combating corruption. The polling research reveals that 84% of Australians support the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority.

“In Australia, whistleblowers exposing alleged war crimes or unfair treatment of small businesses face years of jail time,” said Bill Browne, Democracy & Accountability Director at The Australia Institute.

Blowing the whistle often comes at great personal cost – to work and earnings, relationships and even health. A whistleblower protection authority would support and assist truth-tellers.

“The National Anti-Corruption Commission will depend on referrals from whistleblowers and others if it is to effectively root out corruption.”

“Voters want the government to stop delaying and fix Australia’s broken whistleblower protection laws,” said Tosca Lloyd, campaigner at the Whistleblower Justice Fund.

“Fighting corruption is once again a key election issue – but the major parties can’t fight corruption while continuing to punish those who expose it.

“A whistleblower protection authority is the missing piece of Australia’s anti-corruption framework, and both major parties have previously signalled support for such a body. Ahead of the federal election, now is the time for the major parties to commit to stronger whistleblower protections.”

“Whistleblowers make Australia a better place and this polling shows that overwhelmingly people expect them to be protected, not prosecuted in Australia,” said Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director at Human Rights Law Centre.

“The next Parliament must fix our broken whistleblower protection laws and establish an independent whistleblower protection authority.”

Asked about his concern over men’s mental health, Mark Butler says:

We know men are particularly poor at seeking help. About as many as one in three Australian men think it is completely normal not to go and get a check-up and very many men, particularly young men fail to see their GP at all.

Today I am announcing a range of funding deals, partnering with organisations that have a great track record in this area, Movember, the Men’s Shed association, the Black Dog Institute to lift the willingness of Australian men to seek help and get check-ups that are important for their health.

That will start to lift the capability of GPs and nurses in the primary care sector to work with men and the lack of willingness so many men – the lack of willingness so many men have to talk about their health.

We are damn hopeless at it and what it means is we have poorer health outcomes than the general population as well. This is an important package. The latest chapter in our commitment to strengthen Medicare.

Q: Let’s talk health now. You have said you want 90% bulk billing by 2030. The ABC has done an interesting survey of GPs. 840 GPs have responded saying 90% of doctors who were contacted by ABC said they won’t move to full bulk billing under the changes promised by you. That is relatively concerning. Would you be able to meet that 2030 target if most doctors are saying they are not going to take it up?

Butler:

We calculated this policy carefully. We know exactly what doctors are charging right now and we know three-quarters of practices financially will be better off if they take up this investment that we have announced. A lot of doctors groups came to me and said they want the investment with no strings attached. I wasn’t willing to do that.

I want an outcome for patients and that outcome is better bulk billing for people who don’t have a concession card. When we tripled that bulk billing incentive, it turned around for pensioners and concession card holders over the last two years. It is now back over 90% but for Australians who don’t have a concession card, it is down at 60% and it is continuing to reduce.

We have seen big general practice groups announce they will go to full bulk billing. I was at the practice of the year in Tasmania in Launceston a couple of days ago, they announced they will go to full bulk billing. I recognise doctor groups want to arm wrestle to get this investment without strings attached but I am not willing to do that. I want an outcome for patients.

Q: You might have to go back to the negotiating table if 92% of doctors are telling the ABC that they won’t exclusively bulk bill under the promises you’re making.

Butler:

What I have done with these investments is lift the salary of a fully bulk billing GP from $280,000 two years ago to $400,000 after these investments take effect.

That is a $125,000 salary increase, after they pay their practice fees, if they bulk bill. That is a very big increase for GPs who take up this investment. I want an outcome for patients. I am determined to get that. Bulk billing for Labor is the beating heart of Medicare. I will continue to work with GPs and general practices on this. I am also receiving positive feedback. I know there are doctors out there who are concerned about whether they are better off under these arrangements. I encourage them to do their sums and if they do, the bulk of them will see they will be better off. Importantly, so will their patients.

Labor is also enjoying throwing around the term ‘domestic reserve’ which is basically Labor saying Australia won’t export all of the critical minerals and rare earths and will reserve some for domestic uses/bargaining chips (who knows what is going to happen in this hellscape of a timeline).

Mark Butler says:

This will be a reserve that is underpinned by $1.2 billion of investment from the Australian Government. We are putting production tax credits on the table already that will reward investors. Resource companies that invest in these projects when they’re producing, so ensuring taxpayers get value for money for that investment. We think those two things combined will place Australia in a very good position to be one of the leading suppliers of these critical minerals.

Labor is talking critical minerals today and the ABC asks health minister Mark Butler if that’s because of Donald Trump’s hunger for critical minerals and rare earths (Trump has made it his mission to suck up as much of the world’s supply as he can – just ask Ukraine)

Butler says:

More broadly, we want to be an important supplier of these critical minerals and rare earths that are going to be so important for the 21st century global economy. We have already got a program of production tax credits that will underpin and encourage the development of these resource projects, particularly in WA.

Tax credits that Peter Dutton said yesterday he would cut. We think the creation of this critical minerals reserve will make Australia a really important supplier, particularly to like-minded nations. Nations we do business with like Japan and South Korea want a reliable supplier but I am sure the US administration will be interested in this as well.