QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GATENBY (Tasmania) (14:04): Minister, St Lukes told a Senate inquiry that if members downgrade their top-tier cover to silver, 25 per cent of claims—mainly joints and cataracts—will shift onto the public system. They warn that Tasmanians relying on the public system already wait 281 days for a knee replacement and 100 days for cataracts. Will your government guarantee the wait in the public system won't get any worse under this tax on seniors?