Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has conceded more work is needed to fix the nation's health workforce shortages, as he fended off criticism of its plan for urgent care clinics.
Ahead of a brief campaign truce over the Easter period, Mr Albanese is spending day four of the campaign in the NSW seat of Hunter where he promised funding for a clinic in Cessnock, one of 50 planned across the country.
The Labor leader flagged further announcements about training for GPs, when quizzed about where the health workers would come from to staff the clinics amid an existing shortage.
The policy has been welcomed by general practitioners but labelled "superficially attractive" by Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid.
"When you scratch the surface, you see a model that is piecemeal, that fragments care even more, and does nothing to improve the average patient's experience in primary care," he said.
"GP practices are struggling to deliver care that patients need...it is time to reform Medicare".
Mr Albanese said he had spoken to Dr Khorshid on Thursday.
"My door is always open to him," he told reporters
The urgent care clinics would treat minor injuries including broken bones, sprains, and cuts in a bid to take the pressure off clogged hospital emergency departments.
While Hunter is traditionally regarded as a safe Labor seat, having held it for more than 100 years, the party suffered an almost 10 per cent swing against it at the 2019 election.
After a shaky start to the campaign, Labor frontbenchers insist the election campaign is still in its early days with plenty of time for Mr Albanese to regain ground.
Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher said despite an early gaffe from the opposition leader on economic figures, there was still a long way to go until polling day.
"There's no doubt that there was a difficult moment ... but ... the campaign moves on, it's not about one thing," she told ABC Radio.
"It has to be about the future of the country and the policies that the parties outline and a contest of ideas and that's what it should be."
Labor will also use Thursday to outline a promise to keep Centrelink shopfronts open, as well as hire 200 new workers.
The opposition claims almost 30 shopfronts have closed under the government, with Labor guaranteeing there would not be a net reduction.
While shorter press conferences and taking fewer questions marked a change in strategy for Mr Albanese, senior Labor MP Tanya Plibersek rejected suggestions the move did not mean he was avoiding scrutiny.
"We've got a prime minister that will happily turn up for the photo op but he's never there for the follow-up. Anthony is always there to step up, speak up, take responsibility," she told Sky News.
"That's just such a contrast between the two men."
Labor has also taken aim at the government following Prime Minister Scott Morrison's refusal to commit to establishing a national integrity commission, despite making a similar pledge in 2019.
Senator Gallagher said it was another sign of a broken promise by the government.
"(Scott Morrison) is going back on what he said to the Australian community before the last election," she said.
"They haven't done anything to progress it, and the model they did table was hopeless."
