STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr GEE (Calare) (13:36): Today, I give voice to thousands of seniors across Calare who are rightly outraged by the government's proposal to slash the private health insurance rebate for Australians over 65. Let's be clear: there is no mandate for this policy. Nobody voted for higher health costs in their retirement.

For decades, these senior Australians all did the right thing. They worked hard. They sacrificed.

They paid their premiums year after year, doing their bit to relieve pressure on our public health system, and, now, when cost-of-living pressures are already crushing retirees on fixed incomes, what's their reward? More pain for our seniors and more pain for our pensioners. It's simply unfair to penalise people who have spent a lifetime doing the heavy lifting.

These cuts will swamp state hospitals and add hours to wait times, but, in regional Australia, the reality is far worse. Our local hospitals across the Central West are already strained by severe workforce shortages and bed block. If thousands of people in regional areas are forced to drop cover due to rising premiums, it will crush our regional public health system into collapse.

This policy is short-sighted. It's unfair to our seniors and bad for regional health care, and it needs to be binned immediately. Let's protect our seniors and our pensioners and give them the respect that they deserve.