House debates Health Legislation Amendment (Private Health Insurance) Bill 2006

Second Reading

Thursday, 15 June 2006 House of Representatives

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House

10:31 am

Privatisation makes a great deal of sense, particularly in areas where there is fierce competition. There is a world of difference between Medibank Private, which is just one—admittedly the largest, but it is just one—private health insurer in a large and competitive market, and the Snowy Hydro, which was a virtual monopoly. It certainly is a public utility. Sure, we can always improve structural weaknesses in the health sector, but workforce shortages have already been very substantially addressed by this government. Again, no-one likes the rising costs of health, but this government, through measures such as the Medibank safety net, is doing a lot to handle that.

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