Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

Bill Shorten, the incoming member for Maribyrnong, recently called the private health insurance rebate:

... a subsidy to the rich.

He said it created:

... a bonanza for the multinational insurance companies.

Just last week in the Senate, Senator Sterle—who I believe is a new senator from Western Australia; he is probably Burkie’s latest addition to the Western Australian contingent in this parliament—said of the private health insurance rebate that it was ‘a monumental failure’, ‘shonky’ and ‘a monstrous failure’.

That is what those opposite say about the private health insurance rebate. How can they credibly expect anyone to believe that they would not rip the guts out of it if they had the chance in government? How can they say they support something which they are constantly criticising? What all this means is that, when it comes to private health, you just cannot trust Labor. I know that the Leader of the Opposition does not like being called Dr Death, but how can we be sure that he will not kill the private health insurance rebate stone dead?

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