General News
6 February, 2026
Urgent care clinics ‘worth it’
THE Prime Minister has used a visit to Cairns to highlight the role Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are playing in easing pressure on hospitals while also addressing cost-of-living concerns.
Anthony Albanese visited the Cairns South Urgent Care Clinic alongside Federal Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith and Senator Nita Green, on Thursday last week, describing the clinics as a key part of Labor’s health reforms.
Mr Smith said the clinic had already proven its value to the community, sharing a personal experience to underline its impact.
“I was here personally on the weekend, I got bitten by a spider,” Mr Smith said.
“I got in, got out, within an hour. I spent more time driving than I did waiting to see a doctor.”
Mr Smith said the success of the Cairns South clinic showed why a second urgent care clinic was needed in the region, with an announcement expected soon.
Mr Albanese said the Cairns South clinic was already seeing significant demand from the community.
He said, on average, more than 60 patients visited the clinic each day, with numbers exceeding 80 during peak periods such as Christmas and New Year when many GP surgeries were closed.
“The fact that this facility is open 365 days a year makes such an enormous difference,” Mr Albanese said.
He said Medicare Urgent Care Clinics had been “an enormous success”, with 22 already opened in Queensland as part of a national commitment to 137 clinics.
Cairns Local News asked Mr Albanese whether more clinics would be opening in regional cities like Cairns.
“One will open in northern Cairns. Very soon we’ll announce the tender process that goes through in coming weeks and that will be a realisation of the commitment that Matt Smith made here in the southern region,” he said.
“If you have those two, it will mean that Cairns is fully serviced, further taking pressure off the local hospital network.”
Mr Albanese said the clinics were taking pressure off emergency departments and hospitals, while also helping families manage cost-of-living pressures.
“All they’ve needed is this little piece of green and gold plastic – their Medicare card,” he said.
“This card says a lot about our nation.”
The visit came as the National Cabinet met in Sydney and reached an agreement on future hospital funding and reforms to the NDIS.
Under the deal, the Commonwealth will provide $25 billion in additional funding for public hospitals, with total Commonwealth funding for state-run public hospitals to reach $219.6 billion from 2026-27 to 2030-31.
