Albo to cut script fees for medicine

THE price of medicine will be slashed, it will be easier to buy a first home and a major hurdle to Australians buying electric vehicles will be removed under an Albanese government, the Opposition Leader has promised.

In a pitch clearly targeted at Australians facing hip-pocket pain from rising cost-of-living pressures, Anthony Albanese promised “a better future” as he rolled out Labor’s threeword slogan.

At his party’s campaign launch, the Labor leader announced a suite of policies covering health, manufacturing, housing and pay worth more than $1.3bn dollars.

Mr Albanese announced a plan to slash the price of prescription drugs by $12.50 – $2.50 more per script than the Coalition’s pledge – making the maximum price of a script under the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme $30.

He also promised to build charging stations at an average interval of 150km on major roads, at a cost of $40m to be matched by motoring body the NRMA with involvement from state governments.

“That means you’ll be able to drive an electric vehicle across the country,” Mr Albanese said.

In a major cash injection set to benefit resource states, Labor would pump $1bn to develop manufacturing facilities for turning critical minerals like lithium and nickel into valued products like batteries.

The “Help to Buy” scheme, revealed ahead of the launch, will offer the chance for 10,000 low and middle-income earners to become homeowners with an equity contribution of up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home and up to 30 per cent of the purchase price for an existing home. Mr Albanese announced a tri-level housing body would be established to bring state and local governments into the conversation.