Hundreds in Australia protest healthcare reforms

Hundreds of people have held a demonstration in the Australian city of Sydney to protest against a government decision to cut citizens’ access to healthcare service.

The protesters assembled in front of Sydney’s Town Hall on Saturday, carrying banners which read, Stop Abbott, Save Medicare, and, Free Universal Health Care.

Demonstrators urged the administration of Prime Minister Tony Abbott to dismiss any changes to Medicare, which is Australia’s healthcare service.

Under the new policy, patients are required to pay a suggested $6 fee for each consultation.

“Before Medicare, millions of Australians used to be bankrupted,” said deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek.

“Medical bills were the highest cause of bankruptcy in Australia, as they still are today in the US,” she added.

The Australian prime minister had previously dismissed claims that the government was planning to introduce a fee as nothing more than a scare campaign.

“Nothing is being considered, nothing has been proposed, nothing is planned,” Abbott said earlier this month.

Before the Australian premier’s decision to scrap the Medicare, the country’s healthcare was believed to be one of the best in the world.