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

He did. He said exactly that. Well, that is what has happened. They are changing it all. As late as 24 February 2009, the federal minister, Nicola Roxon, reassured the public in response to a media inquiry from Leo Shanahan for his article, ‘Scrap health rebate: Treasury’, in the Age of that date. She said:

The government is firmly committed to retaining the existing private health insurance rebates …

What a shame. What a sham. What two-faced behaviour that is. It is a disgrace, and the Australian public will have the opportunity to express their disgust with this broken promise. What do members of the Australian Health Insurance Association think about this? Dr Michael Armitage put it succinctly when he said:

It would be difficult to have 100 per cent trust before any budget, given what has happened to us in the last two—particularly this decision.

He went on:

It would be difficult to have 100 per cent trust given that we have such a definitive letter from the Prime Minister, which has now been shredded.

That is what he said: it has now been shredded. Mr Michael Roff, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Private Hospitals Association, representing all of the key private hospitals all around Australia, not just in the key states or certain territories, said this:

… these proposals constitute a fundamental breach of promise by the government. This entails reneging on clear commitments that were made not just in the lead-up to the last election but were repeated by a range of senior government figures, from the Prime Minister down, on numerous occasions both in public statements and private meetings since the election.

That is the sort of thing that sticks in my craw, and I know it upsets a lot Australians—that is, a broken promise, and this is a very blatant and hurtful one. I hope this legislation does not pass, because if it did we know that it would put upward pressure on private health insurance premiums and cause pressure on public hospitals—increased waiting times, increased waiting lists.

The impact on Tasmania would be significant. I have had contact in recent times with Colleen McGann from St.LukesHealth, a private health insurance provider, and I commend her for her leadership in and support for the private health insurance system across the board, and health generally. They are very good corporate citizens. They are based in Launceston and they employ many people in and around Launceston. They are to be commended, particularly Colleen McGann for her leadership across the community in Northern Tasmania. They have indicated that there will be a reduction in the number of people taking out private health insurance as a result of this measure. That is no surprise. Of course that is going to happen. The average age of a person taking up private health insurance is likely to increase, and people will of course change the type of policy they have. Ms McGann indicates that there will probably be higher excesses, meaning that, should clients require hospitalisation, the out-of-pocket expenses will be much greater and some clients will find they cannot actually afford the excess. So guess where they are going to end up? They will end up in the public hospital system, which is exactly what we have been saying. There will be further pressure on the public hospital system across the board. This is the concern that we have.

Last year, in relation to the government’s proposal at budget time, St.LukesHealth estimated that Launceston General Hospital could face up to an additional 10,000 patients under the changes that were to be put into effect at that time, with similar pressures affecting other Tasmania hospitals, and that on a population share basis—these predictions are concerning—up to 50,000 Tasmanians could transfer to the public hospital system.

That was last year based on last year’s proposal. These are the concerns we have. Particularly in Tasmania we have very poor health outcomes. We have the poorest hospital indicators of any state in the country based on the State of Our Public Hospitals report. That is a concern for all Tasmanians here of whatever colour or persuasion. Surely, we have to try and do better.

In conclusion, I say that I am proud to oppose this legislation and to stand up in support of a balanced approach and show support for the private health system and support for promises being kept. The government, I say again, says one thing prior to the election and then does another after the election. They have made a categorical promise; they have broken that promise, and that breach is going to hurt the hospital and health system across this country and will be disadvantageous to Australians, not just the 9.7-plus million people with private health insurance but all Australians. It is a very fearsome and concerning situation with which we are now presented. I thank Acting Deputy President Carol Brown and the Senate.