Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. More than a million people have joined private health insurance since this government came to office. These new figures for last year show that the industry recorded a record profit of $461 million before tax for the December quarter and that the year's profit from December 2010 to December 2011 was a record $1.27 billion. The industry is strong and the industry is healthy and the industry will stay strong despite the scare campaign of those opposite.

You would remember that the member for North Sydney said in 2008 that hundreds of thousands of people would drop out of private health insurance, when Labor took a decision that low-income earners should not be penalised for not having private health insurance. He said that hundreds of thousands would drop out. And what happened? 800,000 extra people have joined private health insurance since that time. He was wrong then and he is wrong now. This is a win for low- and middle-income earners.

Mr Christensen interjecting—

It means that the bank teller on $50,000 a year will no longer subsidise the private health insurance—

See this speech in context