Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to ask you about means testing. I notice there is no means testing under the scheme whatsoever. So you can have a multimillionaire—in fact, even a billionaire, but I don't think they'd bother going on the scheme; I think they'd pay for it themselves. There are multimillionaires—asset rich—and people on the schemes who can well afford it for themselves. We means test the age pension and we means test self-funded retirees for jobs, and what should be relevant to the fact is whether a person can pay for it or not.

I am aware that you're concerned that health should be free to everyone, so it shouldn't be means tested. Surely it is, because we have public hospital systems. Free health is available to every Australian. Some Australians may have to wait a long time to get it, because our system is broken. Our system is pathetic in some states—in most states, to tell you the truth. Anyway, that is the case. If you believe it should be free of means testing, I ask the question: why aren't you allowing NDIS to people over 67 or of pension age? Why aren't you opening it up to everyone? If you feel that health care should be free to everyone, why not older Australians? It's not available to them. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I know of a judge who was on the NDIS and wanted to have the decking extended, at the back of his property, to take the decking down to the river. That was not necessary, but it was put in. Here was someone in a position where they could afford to have extensions done at the house and yet it was put in for the taxpayer to pay for it. You say, no, everyone has their health reasons. But if that person is able to pay for extensions or anything that needs to be done to their house that is not immediately connected to their health issues—like a new wheelchair or apparatus they need for their immediate health care—why are we not means testing people who need to have other assets provided to them when they can clearly afford it?