MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Mr WALLACE (Fisher) (15:53): I rise in support of the member for Mallee's MPI—and I want to acknowledge the great work that she does in this space—and in support of my friend the member for Hinkler, with the egregious exception of the member for Hinkler's talk about people aged 65 being in the twilight of their years. I am in the twilight of my late 30s—that is what I tell my kids!
All jokes aside, this is a very important issue because Australians who've worked hard, paid their taxes and planned carefully for retirement are being asked to pay more and more and more under Labor. The Albanese government wants to impose an $11 billion hit on private health insurance by ripping away the additional rebate for older Australians. Couples aged over 65 with gold cover could be slugged by up to $1,614 extra every year from April 2027.
That's a 21.3 per cent increase. For a retiree on a fixed income, that is not loose change; that is groceries, heating, insurance and fuel. Patricia from Dicky Beach in my electorate is a retired widow living on the age pension.
She contacted me. She told me that she and her late husband had made sacrifices all their lives to keep private health insurance because they valued continuity of care and wanted to help keep pressure off the public system. Patricia has worked out that Labor's changes will cost her more than $1,000 every year.
She fears that many retirees simply will not be able to afford to keep their cover, and I agree with her. And when they drop that cover they don't stop needing health care. We know that they will go onto the public system.
That's why three state health ministers—for Queensland, Tasmania and even New South Wales, a Labor health state minister—have said that this federal Labor policy is going to be disastrous for the state's health systems— Ms Comer: Don't you mean shadow minister? Mr WALLACE: I'll take the interjection. Even your own New South Wales state Labor health minister acknowledges this.
Independent modelling has found that for every dollar Canberra claims it will save by cutting this rebate the public health system could face around $1.20 in additional costs. Newsflash: that's not a saving, for those on the other side of the House. It's a false economy.
It shifts costs onto pensioners, taxpayers and state hospitals. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul. The government's own modelling concedes that at least 44,000 older Australians will drop their cover.
That's their own concession, while industry research suggests that more than 250,000 could drop or downgrade. I know which one I am going to believe. When an older Australian drops gold or silver cover, they do not suddenly stop needing a cataract operation or a joint replacement.
They end up on the public hospital waiting list—more pressure, longer waits and more ambulance ramping. John from Golden Beach in my electorate is feeling the squeeze, too. He's 68.
He rents a house and now he's facing higher rents—on his estimates, an extra $60 or more a week—because of this government's recent changes to its tax policies on housing. And now he's going to get slugged more for this private health insurance tax. At the same time, Labor is asking older Australians to pay more for their health cover.
Its aged-care system is leaving people waiting months for support that they've already been assessed as needing. The government's own data shows a median wait of around 10 months between approval for Support at Home and services starting. Older Australians can be assessed as needing help to shower, prepare meals, take medication or remain safely at home and then be left waiting month after month after month.
Older Australians deserve better than this hopeless Labor government. After I launched my Stop Labor's Health Tax on Seniors petition I got 9,800 signatures. Go to my website and sign up.
I want 200 more signatures, and then I'll take it to the PM.