MOTIONS
Mr TEHAN (Wannon—Manager of Opposition Business) (09:50): I move: That this House: (1) congratulates the Senate on yesterday discharging the Government's bill to tax seniors for accessing basic health care; (2) notes that despite broad community and bipartisan opposition to the Government's cruel cuts, the Government has reintroduced yet another attack on senior Australians in the House of Representatives today; (3) further notes that on 14 September 2026, the Government bizarrely voted to prevent its own members from speaking on its health tax bill; and (4) calls again on the Government to not proceed with its plan to pick the pockets of older Australians to pay for its wasteful spending.
To translate for those listening to the debate today, what happened in the Senate— Ms Collins: Leave is not granted to move this motion. Mr TEHAN: I didn't ask for leave. What happened yesterday in the Senate was that the Senate said to the Labor Party, 'Stop your attack on senior Australians and asking them to pay for your wasteful spending.' What the Senate said was, 'Minister for health, older Australians and pensioners shouldn't pay the price for your government's failure to pull in your purse strings.' The Treasurer, who you want to replace so that you can take over and then take over from the Prime Minister, has created a spending problem in this country which sees us spending at a rate the like of which we haven't seen for 40 years.
To try and make up for that, what are you doing? You're going to place a fee on older Australians—and not only on older Australians; on 1.2 million pensioners. What are you going to be asking those pensioners to pay?
If they are a single, it will be an additional $800 or more a year. If they're a pensioner couple, it will be $1,600. Minister for Health and Ageing and Prime Minister, there is a cost-of-living crisis going on at the moment, and you want to do this to pensioners?
But it's not only pensioners; it's self-funded retirees. They're dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, with electricity bills up 40 per cent and more tax, and yet what you want to do is hit them and hit them hard—$800, or $1,600 if you're a couple. Once again, so people can understand what happened, the minister was saying, 'There was a Senate committee hearing and the Senate committee said, "Yes, this should go ahead."' Well, there was a Labor majority on the committee and there was a dissenting report.
What happened was that the dissenters, when it came to a final vote last night, said to the minister for health, 'Go back to the drawing board.' We didn't hear anything about that from the minister for health. All we heard was this very cool, calm and collected 'There's nothing to see here.' Well, I can tell you—and I say it to the Labor Party backbench—you're out in your communities, listening to your constituencies, and they aren't liking what's going on.
You're picking the pockets of everyday Australians, in any which way you can, to make up for your wasteful spending. They know that, and you know it, because we're starting to hear it through the backgrounding against the Treasurer and others. The Treasurer has been referred to as a used car salesman by someone on that backbench there, because they know it's the government's spending that is the issue, and they're failing to address it.
The minister for health knows it. He's positioning to take over from the Treasurer so he can parachute straight up to the top job when the Prime Minister decides to sail into the sunset—and, given the way the Prime Minister's approval rating is falling through the floor, don't be surprised if he sails into the sunset sooner rather than later. That's why all this Machiavellian manoeuvring is taking place within the Labor Party.
It's going to be fascinating to see, with the Treasurer away, who's going to be up there today, trying to make sure—'Look at me! Look at me! I might be the one who should replace the Treasurer!' Well, I can tell you, older Australians shouldn't pay the price for your manipulating and for the Treasurer's failures.
They should not. What I don't understand is how you haven't listened. The Senate last night said that this is a stupid idea, a dumb idea.
Why go after older Australians? Why go after 1.2 million pensioners? These people have worked their backsides off, and they've gone into retirement after planning for that retirement and want to know that they can do so while affording private health insurance.
You have just taken that away from them—absolutely taken that away from them. Why? It's not their fault.
They've planned. They've saved. They've wanted to prepare for their futures.
It's not their fault. It's your fault, because you can't control your spending, so you're making them pay for it. I ask anyone from this backbench to stand up—and it's funny: when this bill was debated they didn't speak; I wonder why—and say, 'Yes, we want 1.2 million pensioners in this country to pay $800 more for their private health insurance,' which is what the bill does.
I would love for you to stand up and say that. So let's hear you stand up and say— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Manager of Opposition Business, direct your comments through the chair, please. Mr TEHAN: Thanks, Deputy Speaker, I will.
This is a complete and utter dog's breakfast. The government is turning into a complete and utter dog's breakfast. This is completely and utterly humiliating.
The Senate has said no, but this government is so out of touch that, the morning after the bill was voted on and rejected, they're back here putting it bill straight back in—I mean, arrogance; out of touch; not listening. Our backbench has done surveys, spoken to people, done a lot of work—listening, and petitions—and it's been made been made very clear: 'We don't want this.' They don't want this.
That's what they say. And they've got a message for the minister for health: you can spend your time doing puff pieces for magazines and trying to position, but there are people out there doing it hard, doing it tough. There's a cost-of-living crisis on.
So while you're doing all that, get out instead and listen to your communities. If you did that, you would know that this is a stupid idea. The last point I'll make on this is that the states are awake to it as well.
They know in the end what you're doing is cost shifting. You're cost shifting onto the public health systems at the state and territory levels, and what does that mean? They are already in serious pain.
The wait times are blowing out. Ambulance ramping is still occurring, and you want to put more costs on them to make up for your wasteful spending. It is an absolute disgrace.
We won't stand for it and, on behalf of all older Australians, we will oppose this bill. We will keep opposing this bill. It is terrible legislation, and we will go to the next election opposing it because, older Australians, we are on your side.
The Minister for Health and Ageing mightn't be on your side, but we are and we will fight this to the death. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is there a seconder for the motion?