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

In answer to the question, on 10 May the federal Treasurer announced as part of the budget that the Commonwealth would increase the Medicare levy surcharge thresholds to $100,000 for individuals and $150,000 for families from 1 July 2008. It has clearly, as the opposition has noted, attracted a fair amount of interest. It is estimated to result in published savings of around $299 million over the first four years.

This measure is squarely targeted, bringing relief to working families, and it will offer welcome relief for up to two million Australians. That is where this policy is targeted. When the policy was introduced by the former government they said: ‘High-income earners will be asked to pay a Medicare levy surcharge if they do not have private health insurance. These are people who can afford to purchase health insurance.’ What the opposition now apparently support is that $50,000 is a high-income earner. It is clear that the threshold originally targeted by them as high-income—