That's it for today, thanks for reading
Here are the main stories on 31 May:
- Prime minister Anthony Albanese unveils his ministry, which he says contains more women in cabinet than any other in history;
- Albanese also spoke to caucus for the first time, and confirmed parliament would return in July;
- Labor wins Gilmore, the final seat in dispute after the 2022 election, leaving the house of representatives with 77 Labor members, the Coalition 58, and Greens/Independents with 16;
- The Nationals push nuclear energy as Greens call for legislated timetable of coal-fired power station closures; and
- There were at least 56 Covid deaths recorded across Australia.
We will see you all again tomorrow.
The Australian Medical Association president, Dr Omar Khorshid, has welcomed the appointment of Mark Butler as health minister and called for upcoming discussions on healthcare to address the “growing crisis in Australia’s hospital system”.
In a statement, Khorshid said Butler had invaluable experience as a former minister for ageing and Australia’s first minister for mental health in the Gillard government, as well as in the role of opposition health spokesman. But he urged him to “grasp this opportunity to start a new relationship with the states and territories on reforming the health system”.
Khorshid said:
While we need a long-term funding solution, we also need practical, short-to-medium-term solutions that can be implemented soon and don’t have any unintended consequences, including extending the short-term 50/50 hospital funding that’s due to expire in September.
Covid is not over. We need to work on way to make our society and health system more resilient to endemic Covid in order to avoid unnecessary deaths and the huge disruptions to our hospital system. This winter, we need to make sure people with respiratory illnesses are getting the care they need in the right settings.
Updated
