Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the opposition, we will be supporting the procedural course of action as proposed by the government. We were somewhat amazed that, when the government finally brought this legislation to the Senate a couple of weeks ago, they had not actually done their homework to get a properly thought-through piece of legislation into this chamber. This is a measure that was announced three days before the budget, in an organised budget leak. It was sold as a tax cut without any consideration whatsoever of the flow-on implications on our health system. To date the government still have not costed, modelled or in any way assessed the impact of this measure on public hospitals or on our health system in general. For the government to introduce this legislation the way they did just shows that they are a government that does not know what the job of government is all about. We will support this procedural course of action but we think that this legislation continues to be fundamentally flawed. The government clearly have not done their homework. This is all about horse-trading rather than good public policy. With those comments on the record, I confirm that the opposition will be supporting this procedural course of action.

Question agreed to.