Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to oppose the Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy Surcharge Thresholds) Bill 2008. What we are seeing here is more misleading politics and spin from the Rudd Labor government, who have tonight been caught out on a Fuelwatch scheme which is nothing more than a cost impost on average Australians. Just as they were there, they are here being less than honest with the people of Australia. They are portraying this as a tax cut for 400,000 Australians. There is some argument with regard to the figures, but the various figures, which range up to a loss from the health insurance industry of around a million people, can only have one possible consequence. The only possible consequence is that those who remain in private health insurance will pay more—so they are being asked to pay for this. The government pockets something north of $300 million in money that they save, and the public health system—which I assume those opposite are going to say is in great shape, because, if it is not, why are they pushing more people in that direction?—will groan under a greater load than it has already.

The reality is that right at the bottom of this is a fundamental opposition by those who sit opposite to private health insurance, which allows people the opportunity to insure against ill health and the costs associated with it. That has been clear every time any discussion on private health insurance has been raised in this House. In the end the true mantra of the Labor Party comes out: they are opposed to private health insurance.

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