Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

It is not my motion, but my understanding is that the government’s bill, which the opposition and others intended to amend, did not go to the third reading stage. That was quite extraordinary and changed things dramatically. That is why this extraordinary measure has been used. There is an issue here about whether or not this amendment is necessary, but the government has its own view, and to remove any ambiguity this needs to be sorted out. I would have thought that the fair thing to do, from the point of view of statutory interpretation, if regulations are disallowed would be to revert back to the earlier regulations. But this legislation is about ensuring that this issue is brought to a head, and the government needs to determine what its position is. It is not reasonable that if there is no Medicare rebate paid. It is not reasonable for patients, and that is my primary concern.

If the Minister for Health and Ageing—and I think the minister did make a number of reasonable points on the whole of fees being charged—is concerned about overcharging, there are other mechanisms to deal with that which are not so blunt an instrument as the government has used in relation to cataract surgery. That is for another debate, if this motion succeeds, but I support this motion on the basis that the government’s own actions yesterday in the lower house in not allowing the bill to go to a third reading vote—which was quite extraordinary—forced the hand of those who are concerned about these measures and about the impact they will have on senior citizens in Australia.