Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Perhaps they would like to ask the former Prime Minister why he left the Medicare surcharge levy at such a low level for so long, because it was never designed to apply to income earners on average incomes. For 12 long years the former Prime Minister and the former Treasurer punished all those average income earners with the surcharge. Now that relief is in sight, what are they going to do? They are going to take it away. They have not got a clue what life is like for people who are living out there under price pressures—not a clue, because if they did they would not be taking this action in the Senate. We stand for providing relief to those on average incomes. We have delivered the tax cuts. There is now some interest rate relief and there was further relief on the way, and they are going to block it. They will pay a very high price for that.

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