The head of Australia's professional body for general practitioners says the federal government's $8.5 billion pledge to expand Medicare bulk billing is "welcome".

The federal government is promising nine out of 10 GP services will be bulk-billed by 2030, as part of a Medicare funding boost that will form the centrepiece of Labor's federal election campaign.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled the policy at a campaign rally in Tasmania on the weekend, in a speech laden with dire warnings about risks to the health system posed by the Coalition and Peter Dutton.

But within hours the Coalition pledged to match Labor's Medicare boost dollar for dollar.

Also this morning, Centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz has claimed victory in the German election, with exit polls also indicating that Alternative for Deutschland, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

The election result comes as Germany and the rest of Europe grapple with the new Trump administration, and the Russia-Ukraine war.

And Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is prepared to give up his presidency in exchange for peace in Ukraine. 

The Ukrainian president's comments come as the country marks the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion amid what could be the most significant shift in geopolitics since World War II.

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