Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

In terms of the Medicare surcharge threshold, on 10 May 2008 the federal Treasurer, the Hon. Wayne Swan, announced that, as part of the budget, the Commonwealth government will increase the Medicare levy surcharge threshold to $100,000 for individuals and $150,000 for families from 1 July 2008. So that the opposition can fully appreciate what the question is, if you look at the issue of whether or not pressure will be put on public hospitals, it is about giving people choice. When somebody takes out a private health insurance policy just to avoid getting hit with the tax slug, that is not a real choice.

This government has quite clearly kept its promise in respect of the Medicare levy surcharge and it has kept its promise to keep the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate. In the first six months in government, this government announced $1 billion in extra funding for hospitals, beginning to reverse the 11 years of neglect by the Howard government—$600 million to slash elective surgery waiting lists, something that the opposition did not do; and incentives of up to $6,000 to deliver 10,000 nurses into our health and aged-care system, something that the opposition did not do when they were in government. The government also announced the establishment of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, to develop a long-term plan—