This week the Senate will be debating the Rudd Government’s third broken health election promise. First, Labor fiddled with the Medicare levy surcharge last year; second, it failed to “fix hospitals” by its own June deadline and now it is moving to slash the Private Health Insurance Rebate.
Labor opposed private health insurance for years, and only very reluctantly changed its position to support the rebate introduced by the Coalition Government. It harbours a desire to remove the rebate despite its promise to keep it, hence the constant whittling away at its application. But it simply does not understand the impact this will have on our stressed public hospitals.
If this legislation passes, we can expect the cost of Private Health Insurance to skyrocket, forcing Australians to drop their cover and turn to the already overwhelmed and inadequate public health sector.
The Senate is today debating Labor’s reintroduction of compulsory student unionism. Breaking its promise, Labor wants to force all university students to pay compulsory fees that will be handed to student unions. This will add over $1000 to the cost of tertiary education for most students.
I spoke against the bill earlier today and will be voting against this legislation, along with my Senate colleagues.
Debate over Labor’s flawed ETS continues, after it was rejected by all non-Government Senators last week. I spoke on debate last Wednesday and Thursday. My speech also made the US Environment News Service.
Labor also confessed, in a question I asked the Assistant Treasurer, that their promise to pay back the record foreign debt is purely speculative.