QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:36): I don't accept the last proposition that Senator Allman-Payne put in her question. Also, I know it's convenient for the Greens to link taxes on resources with a whole range of other commitments they want to make in a whole range of other areas—including, seemingly, a commitment to end public funding of the private health insurance rebate, until a piece of legislation came here that Senator Allman-Payne decided they didn't support anymore.

Our position—we will deal with those issues separately; we don't conflate the two. And, as I said in my last answer, we have increased significantly, over and above indexation, a range of payments for those on income support.