ADJOURNMENT

Mr TEHAN (Wannon—Manager of Opposition Business) (11:22): I rise today to once again implore the Victorian state Labor government and the Albanese Labor government to put more funding into our roads. I ask the Albanese Labor government to stop taking funding away from state and territory governments when it comes to roads. You cut the contribution that the federal government makes for our major highways, from 80c to every 20c the states put in back to a fifty-fifty ratio.

That has meant less investment into our roads, and, sadly, we are seeing the consequences of that on a daily basis. We're seeing it through rims being damaged. We're seeing it through tyres being completely worn out.

We're seeing it through motorists travelling on the roads fearing that they're going to hit potholes metres deep, and, sadly, we're seeing it through fatalities. This has to stop. We have to get funding back into our roads.

We have to get significant funding back into our roads. Sadly, yesterday, in my electorate, on the Princes Highway, a road of national importance—a road that I fought to get made so we would have an 80-20 federal-state split on funding so we would get more money into that road—there was a fatal accident. There were people seriously injured and a fatal accident.

This has to stop. People are taking their lives in their own hands now when they're driving, because they've got to weave through the potholes. It's so bad they've got to weave.

Now we're seeing them, in their weaving, putting their lives at risk. We don't know ultimately what led to that two-car collision, but it's clear that the better the standard of your roads, the safer they are to drive on. I implore the Albanese Labor government: stop your wasteful spending and start investing in our key infrastructure, starting with our roads.

Enough is enough. Last night the Senate did something which I have to commend them highly for. They canned the government's cruel hit on older Australians.

On the private health insurance bill which was going to take $800 out of the pockets of singles and $1,600 out of the pockets of couples if they had private health insurance and were aged over 65, the Senate said to the Albanese Labor government, 'That is a disastrous policy.' It was bipartisan, with the Independents, the Greens and the coalition all voting together to say: 'Labor, this is a disaster.

This will impact 1.2 million pensioners. They will pay $800, if they're single, or $1,600 more for their private health insurance.' Lots of elderly Australians have private health insurance. They scrimp and they save so they can do it.

The last thing they need in a cost-of-living crisis is to be hit with this cruel hoax by the Albanese Labor government. The sad thing is that this government isn't listening. It doesn't have its priorities right.

It's quite clear that no-one thinks this is a good idea. As a matter of fact, when the bill was debated in the House of Representatives, the Labor Party backbenchers didn't want to speak on it because they didn't want to be there saying, 'Yes, we want to take money off pensioners.' Of course, the health minister, who is on some sort of push to take over from the Treasurer so he can be next in line to the Prime Minister when he sails off into the sunset, is all for it.

(Time expired)