The Latest Breaking News from Mark Butler

Health minister Mark Butler argues decision ‘will not come as any surprise to the Chinese government’

Australia said on Sunday that travellers from China will have to provide negative COVID-19 test results from Jan. 5, joining a growing number of nations that have implemented similar restrictions as cases surge in China.

Travellers from China will need to undergo mandatory testing for COVID-19 before boarding a flight to Australia, the health minister has announced.

Australia is to introduce COVID-19 test requirements for arrivals from China — after skyrocketing COVID-19 case numbers — joining a range of other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and France.

The federal health minister is being called on to reconsider the planned end to funding for additional subsidised mental health appointments.

Nearly 10 months on from catastrophic floods in the Lismore region, local doctors battling to re-establish full services say their calls for support are being ignored by the state and federal governments.

As Australia struggles through a national GP shortage, at least 3,500 patients from one closing clinic have been suddenly forced to find a new doctor.

An energy relief package agreed to by national cabinet has been passed after parliament was recalled to deal with the legislation ahead of Christmas.

The federal government is under pressure from its own backbench to reverse a decision to halve subsidised psychological visits.

Labor backbencher Josh Burns has come out against a government decision to halve the number of subsidised psychology appointments.

Medicare data has confirmed what many already knew: GP bulk-billing rates have fallen in the past quarter, prompting more concern that the scheme is failing.