House debates Business

Consideration of Legislation

Monday, 14 September 2026 House of Representatives

Melissa McIntosh

Melissa McIntosh Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women

3:43 pm

I second the motion and I ask the Albanese government a simple question: are you facing your people? Have you been out there on the weekend? The member for Wannon talked about a family that have been impacted by cancer and their reliance on private health insurance and the rebate. I was speaking to a gentleman at an event in my community just this week, and he was extremely concerned. He's been struggling with cancer. He's been fighting cancer. And he also is reliant on receiving the rebate because he would otherwise not be able to afford his cancer treatment.

The minister for health talks a big game. He steps up in question time and says the government has to make tough decisions. Well, how about this government make the right decisions for Australians? It doesn't have to be that tough if the decision is right, and we know that this is completely the wrong decision. This is the same health minister who cut psychology sessions—20 psychology sessions desperately needed by Australians—in half. We had the policy, on this side, to return those sessions to Australians who need mental health help. This is the same health minister who is now stripping away the private health insurance rebate from older Australians.

Millions of Australians will be impacted. This is the nonsensical part about it. You don't meet a single Australian who thinks this is a good thing, and I'm not just talking about over-65-year-olds. This is going to impact every health insurance premium. I've spoken to the health insurance industry, and they said it's going to impact younger people as well. So it's not just about over-65s.

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