Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm speaking to hundreds of people right across my electorate who feel let down, hurt and betrayed by broken promises and new taxes. I've been inundated with hundreds of emails in the space of just a few days since I asked for feedback on the federal government's broken promise on the private healthcare rebate for Australians aged 65 and older. There are 1.4 million Australians in this bracket, and it's going to cost them up to $640 more every year.

Australians right across this nation are sick and tired of broken promises. Rosemary from Inverloch, in my electorate, emailed me about a number of inconsistencies this government has presented on HECS and higher education. I've heard from Chris, who has had to cancel his private healthcare insurance already. He said:

I have always had private health insurance until Labor took away the rebate.

Robyn, an age pensioner, has held private health insurance for more than 50 years. She is worried that, as she gets older, there will be an increasing burden on the health system for people like her, who try and do the right thing and pay their own cover.

I've had many other emails as well, particularly on the Victorian Labor government's broken promise about the West Gippsland Hospital. Wayne Farnham and I will continue to stand up for West Gippsland, as it's been terribly let down by this broken promise.

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