QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GATENBY (Tasmania) (14:00): My question is to the minister representing the minister for health, Minister McAllister. My home state of Tasmania has the oldest population in Australia, the highest rates of chronic illness and among the longest public hospital wait times in the country. Your plan to axe an additional private health insurance rebate for over 65s is a direct hit on more than 71,000 Tasmanians aged 65 and over who hold private health insurance—more than half of the seniors in my home state.

St Lukes told a Senate inquiry that about a third of its members aged over 65 live on less than $30,000 a year, while a further 45 per cent live on between $30,000 and $55,000. Case studies in their submission show members paying between $3,200 and $6½ thousand dollars a year in premiums, with one member's premium representing more than 22 per cent of her annual income.

Why does this government continue to insist that older Tasmanians on fixed incomes foot the bill for the government's budget mismanagement?