Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026

Mr KENNEDY (Cook) (12:22): Cost of living isn't a problem. We do not have a cost-of-living problem in this country at all. What we have is an economic mismanagement problem.

Cost of living, sadly, is just a symptom of the chronic poor economic management of this Labor government. And what are we seeing with this poor economic management? We're seeing an absolute grab for tax, with higher CGT, tackling negative gearing, and income tax being the highest percentage of total income it has ever been in Australia's history.

This is the highest taxing budget of all time. And why? Because it's the highest spending budget in over 40 years outside the pandemic.

I can't find much this government wants to cut. They don't want to cut anything. But there are two things I've found that they do want to cut.

The first is veterans' health care. They want to cut health care for veterans, people who've laid their lives and limbs on the line for the country. Then they want to cut private health care for over-65s.

Unfortunately, while I might be new to politics, one thing I've seen, particularly from this prime minister, who sits in this very chamber and talks at this very dispatch box, is that he knows how to play politics exceptionally well. We see it with gambling, we see it with his electoral policies, where he's trying to buy votes, and we see it where he targets groups he thinks he does not have to win to win government.

Unfortunately, I'm learning politics is about buying votes. It's about who he thinks will vote for him and which votes he thinks he can get. I think, if you look at this budget, there are two groups he doesn't think he can get and he's happy to discard.

The first group is veterans: 'I'll save $748 million from them. I'll cut their health. I don't care that some of them have put their lives on the line for the country.' I had a Vietnam vet with no legs in Cronulla last Friday night.

He was saying how disgraceful it was and how let down he felt. Another man had brought his two kids—three and five years old, sitting there with happy meals. He got up the front and tried to speak but burst into tears; he couldn't even talk.

He's not getting his claims covered by DVA. The second group is the over-65s. I will stand up for over-65s.

Cook disproportionately is an older electorate, and I'll stand up for them. But the Prime Minister, again, has made a political calculation: 'This group votes less for me. They vote less for Labor.' For the schoolkids here today, it's a good lesson in politics and a good lesson in how these guys play politics, which is: 'How do we carve up to the vested interests, and what do we need to do to get 50 per cent plus one?' It's not about what should be done.

It's not about what should be done to veterans, and it's not about what should be done to people who've spent 30, 40 or 50 years paying private healthcare premiums, planning their entire financial life to be covered. It's actually not going to have the savings or effect we hope for. It's just going to shift costs from the feds to the states, and I'll tell you why.

Let me read two emails I've had from my electorate. The first reads: As a 70 year old Australian, I am writing to express my concerns about the Government's proposal to reduce the higher private health insurance rebate for Australians aged 65 and over. I have held private health insurance since age 18— This person's been paying private health insurance for 52 years— because it has reduced the burden on the … public health system— That's saved money— and allowed me to have my choice of treating doctor.

If this proposal goes ahead, it would mean that I will have no option but to cancel my coverage … forcing me onto the public system— and incurring costs there— Now, as a Stage 2B colon cancer sufferer, I will have much longer waiting periods for treatment and scans. What he doesn't say is that that will be jammed onto the state system. The Prime Minister is shifting the costs from the fed books onto the states.

Here's another email from another constituent: I am very concerned about the Government imposing higher costs for mature folk that have maintained their Private Health cover for many years. This would affect me greatly as I am a pensioner, and have tried very hard to maintain my health cover so that in my older age I can have the comfort of knowing that I will be covered and be able to have an operation when needed instead of having to wait for 18 months or so in the Public … system.

If, as the government is suggesting, my health cover will go up by a huge amount, I unfortunately would have to seriously think about withdrawing from my private health cover. I have spoken with many other seniors and they all feel the same way. Why is the government doing this to us in our older years, when we've held private health cover for many years, in my case nearly 60 years and had hardly used it until I reached my late 70's.

Now the government wants to penalise us because we have been diligent in maintaining private health cover. Well, yes, it does. Sadly, this government wants to penalise you.

It wants to penalise the older Australians in Cook, in my electorate. It's made the political calculation that you won't vote for it. Well, that's not good enough.

I will stand up for the older Australians in Cook, for the older veterans all around Australia and for the oldest seniors in health care, the people who've spent their entire life paying tax. They are now paying the highest tax of any generation ever. Why?

Because this government has mismanaged the budget, and that's what this is about. This is not about the cost of living. Yes, it's going to increase for the three million Australians who have this private health cover in older age.

It's going to affect you. Why is cost of living bad? Cost of living is not a problem; it's a symptom.

What is the problem is the economic mismanagement. It's no surprise. This is the largest business in the country—the Australian government.

Almost one in two dollars in the economy comes out of this Australian government. Who have we got managing it? A bloke who has only ever really worked in this building—he spent six months as a bank teller in the CBA in the eighties, and that's his whole private-sector experience—and another bloke, his treasurer, who spent six months in a lobbying firm.

That's his private-sector experience. Is it any wonder cost of living has spiralled out of control? We need to start talking about economic management and economic mismanagement.

That is why it's so important for the coalition to strengthen, be a strong opposition, get rid of this Labor government and get someone who can manage the economy. If we don't manage the economy, cutting private health care will be first, and then cutting veterans and their gold cards will be second. We've already seen them try and come after unrealised gains in super.

We've seen them make up economic policy on the run, with a minimum CGT rate of 30 per cent, going up to 47 per cent, the highest CGT rate in the world. It's zero per cent in New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong and only 20 per cent in communist China, but 47 per cent is the top rate here, and there's a minimum of 30. If you're a nurse or a teacher or you're on the dole and you've managed to save some money or inherit it, you'll get charged 30 per cent CGT.

Then they will cynically thumb through the budget pages looking for groups they think won't support them and come after them. Well, it's weak. They're going for weak people who are not usually the ones who protest—our retirees and the veterans, quiet Australians who don't ask for much.

They pay their health premiums and assume they'll be looked after. They serve their country and assume they'll be looked after. They are people who rarely complain.

They don't chain themselves in protest marches or march up and down the streets carrying placards. They're Australians who contribute and who actually put this country on their back with taxation or with weapons in hand serving this country. That is who this government is coming after.

Why? Because electorally they think you're weaker. Well, that's not good enough, and the coalition won't stand for it.

Many people have reached the period in life where they're now more likely to need this insurance, like those two I talked about in my electorate. The government has decided this is the moment, right when these people have been paying their premiums for 60 years, to take away the rebate. That last constituent has been paying since they were 18 and is now in their late 70s—over 60 years of premiums.

It's not going to bank the savings the government think. What did we hear from the last speaker? 'Oh, people aren't going to go out of private health and into the public system.' Why not? They've modelled it.

Well, do you know what else was modelled? We heard here, just three months ago, that house prices would continue to go up but two per cent slower as a result of that budget. Last week, we read in the Australian that house prices could go down by up to 18 per cent this year.

All the major banks are modelling double-digit decreases in house prices. But they'd modelled it. How could that be right?

Do you know what else they modelled? Your bills. Energy bills should be $275 below the 2022 energy price.

You're now paying up to $1,500 more. But they modelled it. They love to stand in this chamber at the dispatch box, grab a good little bit of modelling, hold it up and say: 'Trust us.

House prices will continue to go up, two per cent slower. Energy prices will be $275 cheaper.' Well, they're up 40 per cent, and house prices might be down by up to 18 per cent, and now they're telling us to trust the modelling on private health. They say, 'No-one's going to go into the public system.' Well, I've got anecdote after anecdote from people writing into my office.

They modelled that rents would only go up by $2 a week. We're seeing that called out on Sunrise with the housing minister and others. We cannot trust this government.

They have absolutely lost control of the economy and absolutely lost control of the budget. They're now cynically picking through groups that they believe won't vote for them. That's why Australians feel these cost-of-living pressures.

We will stand up for you. It is about economic management. That is what this is about.

I met a lady earlier here in the aged-care sector talking about the two per cent increase in wages while costs are going up four per cent. I met childcare people in here talking about pulling out of the childcare industry. This government's belatedly trying to subsidise these sectors.

You can't subsidise sectors while the economy is crashing. People get poorer. That is what everyday Australians watching this are experiencing.

You are continuing to get poorer, and what this government is just belatedly starting to find out is it can't subsidise everything. Yes, they'll give 20 per cent off university fees. Yes, they'll give free TAFE.

Why are they coming after over-65s with health? Why are they coming after veterans? How are they making these budget trade-offs?

Every student, no matter how long they've studied, no matter whether they've got 12 degrees, 300 grand in HECS—let's give them 20 per cent off. Why did they do that? Why not give a tax cut to every young person in the workforce, apprentices and people who didn't go to uni?

Why not give it to people who start work straight out of school? It's been suggested to me they're cherry-picking groups that they believe electorally will vote for them, where they can lock them in, while groups they can't—they target. That's not good enough.

What we need is people who are responsible managing this economy, people who know the only way to make Australians wealthier is to grow this economy. A government subsidy in a cost-of-living crisis that doesn't solve it—the government giving you a cheque. People in Victoria are just starting to wake up to this, as the Victorian government in its dying days is trying to say it will give you free dental care—'vote for us'.

People have worked out they're running out of other people's money, and people, nationally, are starting to work out the reason they're CGT's up and the reason their income tax is up because these guys are running out of money. They're running out of money to buy votes, and they've started to work it out too. That's why veterans are staring down $750 million worth of cuts.

That's why veterans were crying in each other's arms in the RSL in Cronulla last Friday night. That's why retirees are writing to me scared and terrified with colon cancer and who've had private health for 60 or 70 years and are now terrified with cancer going back onto the public system in the middle of their treatment. It's not good enough.

To the people of Cook and the older people of Cook, I will stand with you. I will fight with you to get rid of this terrible government and to put the Liberals back in charge of the economy. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Garland ): I understand the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of her speech for incorporation into Hansard, in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 6 November 2025.