Australia government touts free healthcare hotline as general election nears

Australia's Labor government on Sunday pledged to bolster the country's universal healthcare system with a free medical advice line and telehealth service if it wins the May 3 general election, in which cost-of-living pressures loom as a key issue.

Centre-left Labor traditionally sees its protection of Australia's Medicare universal healthcare scheme as a key differentiator between it and the conservative Liberal-National opposition, which bills itself as superior on economic management and border protection.

The government has sought to make Medicare a core election issue, pledging in February an extra A$8.5 billion ($5.43 billion) for the scheme, amid concerns about reduced levels of bulk billing - a payment option where doctors bill Medicare for their services so patients have no out-of-pocket expenses.

On Sunday, Health Minister Mark Butler said on Australian Broadcasting Corporation television that the new hotline would deliver 24-hour access to medical staff "intended to cover circumstances where people need to be seen immediately."

"When illness or injury strikes in your family, 1800MEDICARE will be there - a 24/7 health advice line and afterhours GP telehealth service backed by Medicare," Butler added in a statement, which pegged the measure's cost at A$204 million.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to announce the policy on Sunday in New South Wales' capital, Sydney, Australia's most populous city and a critical election battleground.

Peter Dutton, leader of the Liberal-National coalition and Albanese's main political opponent, has pledged to spend A$9 billion on Medicare if his conservative side of politics wins government on May 3.

Early voting in the election, which polling shows Labor holding a slim lead over the Liberal-National coalition, began on Tuesday. The campaign has been dominated by cost-of-living relief pledges and rival plans to boost housing affordability.