I'm pleased to provide an update on how the Albanese government is improving the health outcomes of people in my community. One of the biggest challenges people in my region face, which is linked to cost of living, is access to affordable health care. Labor was elected after almost a decade of cuts and neglect from Liberal governments, when the opposition leader was voted by Australian doctors themselves as the worst health minister in 40 years.
When in government, the opposition leader froze Medicare rebates for six years, which reduced bulk-billing rates, and he tried to cut $50 billion from hospital funding. He also tried to introduce a tax to see your GP and cut Medicare funding. The coalition slashed funding for the Hunter's much loved and crucial GP after-hours services at Belmont Hospital and John Hunter Hospital, forcing more patients into already overstretched emergency departments. They also banned overseas trained doctors and Australian doctors who studied on a government scholarship from practising in Lake Macquarie and on the Central Coast.
All this can't be fixed overnight, but the Albanese government has made important progress addressing the local health crisis over the last few years. We've restored $28 million in funding for GP access after hours, saving the service and cementing its future. We've reversed the ban preventing overseas trained and Commonwealth bonded doctors from practising in our area. More medical practitioners have registered to practice in the Australian health system over the last two years than at any time over the last decade, and the number of junior doctors choosing to go into general practice is growing. We've tripled the bulk-billing incentive, which has stopped the freefall in our bulk-billing rates.
Despite strong opposition from the Liberal Party, we've also opened Medicare urgent care clinics, including one at Lake Haven and, most recently, one at Charlestown. The Charlestown Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is open seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm and provides free walk-in care for patients with urgent but non-life-threatening conditions like minor cuts, burns, sprains and broken bones. The feedback on this clinic from my community has been overwhelmingly positive, and it's already seen over 2½ thousand patients since late November. It's so popular that we're expanding its hours to 10 pm permanently from late February.
When it comes to affordable and accessible health care in the Hunter and Central Coast, I'm proud of the progress that has been made under the Albanese government, but this is all at threat if the Liberals return to power. They've promised to cut almost $350 billion in government spending to pay for their $600 billion nuclear fantasy, which includes the Medicare and urgent care clinics. To the people of Shortland, let's be clear, if Peter Dutton is elected, those Medicare urgent care clinics are gone. They're abolished—a loss of vital services for our community.