Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

An excellent new member for Grey, Mr Rowan Ramsey has been doing an outstanding job on this issue and on many others, championing them across his vast and wide electorate. Forty-seven per cent of voters in his electorate will be hit by this slug on their private health insurance. All the rest will be impacted in other ways. Another good member is Mr Patrick Secker. Forty-eight per cent of voters—getting up to 69,828 people across the electorate—in his electorate of Barker are covered with private health insurance. These are massive numbers and these are the seats in South Australia with smaller numbers of people who are covered.

A new member I have not heard standing up for the 67,400 people in his electorate who are covered by private health insurance is Mr Mark Butler in Port Adelaide. I have not heard him out there talking about the impact it will have in his electorate, an electorate that has many social problems and that will be seriously hit with health issues by this. Another new member is Ms Amanda Rishworth. Fifty-five per cent of people in her electorate have coverage—that is, 75,431 people. What has she done? The honourable Kate Ellis, a minister in this government, has 68 per cent of people in her electorate with coverage—that is, 89,020 people living in the federal electorate of Adelaide are covered by private health insurance and will be hit by this government. Indeed, of all Labor members in South Australia, the monte is Mr Steve Georganas in Hindmarsh: 69 per cent of voters in his electorate have private health insurance—68,000 voters and 89,193 people in the electorate of Hindmarsh have private health insurance. Many of them are older people.