Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will not go into a battle of wits with an unarmed man, Mr Speaker, I promise you. These changes, if put into place, will lead to an increase in the incidence of suicides among this patient group. The bill represents a cut of some $270 million to the Medicare safety net. So much for the promise by the Abbott-Turnbull government of no cuts to health! I am here today to tell you that the Australian people are not the bottom line of the accounting sheet. I understand that the argument in this bill means many patients will meet the safety net sooner, but they will meet it sooner in a context where $270 million has been ripped out. These savings are only happening by restricting the total amount of out-of-pocket costs that can accumulate to reach the safety net and then by putting cuts.

Debate interrupted.

See this speech in context