Labor has been accused of reigniting its “Mediscare” campaign ahead of the federal election with a misleadingly edited attack ad in which Opposition Leader Peter Dutton declares “Medicare is dead”.
The edited video was authorised by Labor’s head office and shared by several of the party’s social media accounts, including as a paid ad on Facebook. It shows Mr Dutton appearing to call for an end to free health care.
“We’ve said and we’re very clear about this: Medicare is dead,” Mr Dutton says in the video.
“They can’t be for free. We have to pay for a world-class medical system.”
However, this was not his full statement. The ABC has located the original footage, posted 10 years ago on YouTube.
It was from a November, 2014 press conference broadcast on the ABC when Mr Dutton was the health minister in the Abbott government. He was defending plans to introduce a co-payment for bulk-billed medical consultations.
His full quote, in response to a reporter’s question about whether the co-payment plan would be dumped because of crossbench opposition, was as follows:
“We’re very clear about this. Medicare is dead if we can’t make it sustainable today. The Labor Party will kill Medicare by offering everything to everybody for free and the government is determined to make Medicare sustainable [and] strong, not just for today, these are plans that will set up Medicare for the next decade or two. We have had good feedback, good engagement with the independent senators. But we are pragmatic about this Senate, but we are absolutely determined to make Medicare sustainable. So, the Labor Party can pretend to the Australian public that things are for free, they can’t be for free, we have to pay for a world-class medical system.”
A comparison of Labor’s edited attack ad and that section of the press conference is below.
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The Abbott government abandoned the co-payment plan in 2015.
This edited video has attracted nearly 200,000 views across Labor”s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Linkedin accounts. It also received nearly 2,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
Versions of it have been shared on the social media accounts of Multicultural Affairs Minister Julian Hill and Labor candidate Ali France.
Ms France is running in a tight race against Mr Dutton in his Queensland seat of Dickson. She reposted it on her TikTok and Instagram with the caption: “The guy who wants to be Prime Minster said ‘Medicare is dead’.”
Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic also published the video as a paid ad on Facebook and Instagram on January 29.
According to Meta’s Ad Library data, it reached about 25,000 to 35,000 users and was targeted predominantly at men aged 35 to 45.
The ABC found another edited version of the press conference with Mr Dutton published in Labor fundraising communications.
A mass email sent from Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler’s office included a GIF of Mr Dutton stating: “Medicare will not survive in the long term.”
Ali France (left) is running against the opposition leader in the seat of Dickson in Queensland. (AAP: Darren England)
Mr Husic and Ms France did not respond to requests for comment.
The ABC understands individual Labor MPs and candidates were not involved in the creation of the video, which was produced by the party’s headquarters.
Labor national secretary Paul Erickson did not respond to specific questions about the posts but said the party would be “reminding Australians of Peter Dutton’s record, and on-the-record remarks, every single day until the election”.
However, it is understood Labor plans to remove the posts after the Liberal Party complained to the ABC about the use of its content.
The ABC then approached Labor with a request to take down the posts. The ABC does not allow political parties to use its content in campaign materials in order to preserve its independence.
Political communication expert Andrew Hughes from the Australian National University said he believed Labor’s video was disinformation, designed to mislead voters about Mr Dutton’s position on Medicare.
“They’re trying to create fear,” Dr Hughes said.
“That fear aspect has worked so well for them before on this issue, particularly in 2016 when ‘Mediscare’ was the hallmark of that election campaign.”
That campaign culminated in an election-eve SMS campaign that claimed prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was seeking to privatise Medicare, a claim that Mr Turnbull described as “an extraordinary act of dishonesty”.
In December last year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed Peter Dutton would “come after Medicare”.
Labor’s official social media accounts have been posting regularly about Medicare in recent months, which Dr Hughes sees as a sign it is reviving its attacks on the Coalition over public health care this election campaign.
He believes Labor is targeting its latest campaign at younger men because some recent polls have shown the opposition is growing in popularity among that group of voters.
“By the Labor Party doing this … they’re giving the green light to everybody else to do it in the campaign as well.
“It is giving permission from the governing party to use disinformation in the election.”
Mr Dutton did not respond to a request for comment.
Independent MP Zali Stegall said the posts demonstrated the need for tougher laws that penalised misleading political messaging.
“I think it’s very inconsistent for the government, who on one hand pledged to introduce truth in political advertising [laws] and are now essentially launching a Mediscare 2.0,” she said.
Ms Stegall is launching a voluntary “ethical political advertising code” for political parties and other groups that campaign during elections.
“Polling shows that 9 out of 10 Australians agree that we should have truth in political advertising laws … they don’t like politicians lying to them.”
The ABC is on the hunt for any misinformation or disinformation circulating in the lead-up to the federal election. Send us a tip by filling out the form below, or if you require more secure communication, select an option from our confidential tips page.
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