Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Nearly 50 per cent of Australians aged between 30 and 50 now have private health insurance. Given the contribution made by the member for Lalor only a few minutes ago, I think it would be remiss of me to leave some of the claims that she made unanswered, so I would like to devote a couple of moments this evening to picking up on some of the criticisms that she made about private health insurance in this country.

Most important of all was the criticism that there has been very little consultation in the area of private health insurance. That could not be further from the truth. There has been extensive consultation, both with industry and with the Australian Medical Association and other bodies, in coming up with some of the legislation that has been debated today. It is extraordinary that those on the other side of the chamber, with a record of trying to kill off private health insurance at every election and then trying to be as silent as possible on the issue of private health insurance in between elections, can stand up today and speak about the rights of the consumer—remember, of course, that the consumer would not even have the option of private health cover under their policies. I am sure the member for Isaacs would have a memory long enough to recall exactly where private health insurance stood in 1996. That was at a level of 31 per cent and falling fast.

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