Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Medibank Private was established in 1976 and was made an autonomous government business enterprise in 1998. Medibank Private made an operating profit of $130.8 million in 2004-05, a massive 192 per cent turnaround on the profit level in 2002 and, I understand, for 2005-06, a profit approaching $200 million. There has been a turnaround in that regard, and I will make some comments about Medibank Private management shortly and will be commending them for their efforts in that regard. In 2003-04, the company made a profit of $44.8 million, but that was following a special taxpayer injection of $85 million. So Senator McLucas may ask: why is it unfair on the other health insurers’ members? That is why: you were using taxpayers’ money to prop up a government funded Medibank Private at the time. That is unfair and it was in the form of 85 $1 million shares.

The fund operates on a not-for-profit basis and has a membership base covering, as Senator McLucas indicated, around three million Australians or just under one-third of Australians who have private health insurance cover. In summary, the government ownership of Medibank Private is one humungous distortion of the market. It is unfair and discriminatory to many Australians and the sooner it is sold in an appropriate fashion the better. I will comment on the method of sale shortly.

Amazingly, this dominant player in the private health insurance industry has not returned one cracker, not one dividend, to the government. There has been no mention by the opposition during this debate to date that it has not returned one cracker. The government, through representing the taxpayers of Australia, owns this very substantial asset with not one return—not one dividend. How fair is that? The fact that from time to time taxpayers are asked to contribute funds to Medibank Private creates an unfair playing field.