STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms PENFOLD (Lyne) (13:39): My electorate is outraged over the Albanese government's decision to cut the higher private health insurance rebate for older Australians. I've received countless phone calls, letters, emails and personal appeals on the street and at my mobile offices of people citing their disgust at the government for this grave betrayal. It's a betrayal because these people have been paying for private health insurance for decades, only to be told that they now need to cough up more money or drop their coverage altogether at a time when they need it most.

The government is saying around 44,000 people will drop their private health insurance, but this could be as high as 270,000, based on National Seniors Australia research. That's 270,000 more people that will pile into our overburdened public health system. The outrage was so strong that I launched a petition to reverse the decision.

Over 3,300 people have signed it online, and over a thousand signatures have been collected so far. This is proof that the Albanese government does not care about Australia's seniors. It does not care about our public hospital system and the workers within it.

Labor is stabbing Australia's seniors in the back. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Australia's seniors will not forget, and they will certainly not forgive. They will not forget how this Albanese government turned their back on them.

Unless this government writes this massive wrong, they will not forgive them for it either.