Controversial private health insurance changes affecting older Australians are now on life support, after the legislation was effectively thrown out of Parliament by the Coalition and crossbench. Source: ABC News.
The proposal would wind back the rebate Australians aged 65 and over receive on their private health cover from April next year, banking $3 billion over four years to be spent elsewhere in the aged care sector.
However, the legislation cannot continue through the Senate in its current form, after the Greens teamed up with the Coalition and Independent senator Jacqui Lambie on a motion to strike the bill from the parliamentary agenda.
Health Minister Mark Butler held a snap press conference yesterday afternoon, vowing to push ahead with the policy, flagging the government would reintroduce the exact same legislation today.
“This is an absolute travesty … [it] flies in the face of what I thought was a clear understanding across the parliament of the need to fund better aged care services,” he said.
“What appears to be a rush of blood to the head by the new leadership of the Greens party, that’s all become a bit of a pile on in the Senate and a discharge of a bill instead of a reasoned debate.”
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said Mr Butler should “take the hint”.
“Don’t try to sneak this cut back onto the agenda. Drop it for good,” she said. “Today the Senate stood with older Australians. Labor was left standing alone with its cuts.”
With the Coalition vowing to block the legislation in the Senate, the Albanese Government had been counting on the Greens to try to get the bill through.
Last month, the ABC revealed about $1.6 billion of the forecast savings would be clawed back from pensioners, which drew broad condemnation from the Opposition and crossbenchers.
Senator Lambie accused the government of trying to “balance the budgets on pensioners”.
“Older Australians are already paying through the nose for private health insurance and many would have been forced to choose between putting food on the table and looking after their health. It’s unbelievable that anyone should have to make that choice in modern day Australia.”
FULL STORY
Controversial private health changes effectively thrown out of parliament as government vows to try again (By Stephanie Dalzell, ABC News)
