John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Perhaps as significant as any of the policies that we have introduced and that we are guaranteed to maintain is, of course, the private health insurance rebate. One of the first things the Leader of the Opposition did when he entered the parliament after the 1998 election was to vote against the private health insurance rebate. The election was held in October 1998. The introduction of the 30 per cent rebate was part of our election policy, and it was passed through the parliament, only with the help of the then Senator Brian Harradine. The Labor Party, including the newly elected member for Griffith—virtually his first act in this parliament—voted against tax help for private health insurance.

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