Yesterday, Labor forced their $3 billion cut to the private health insurance rebate through the House. They pushed it straight through the third reading. Then they gagged the member for Wannon to shut down any further debate; they just moved on. Vote it through, shut it down and move on—that's what the Labor government does. Earlier this week, Labor gagged their own MPs, stopping them from speaking on the bill.

Twice now I've sought leave to table a petition signed by 10,340 Australians opposing this cut. Twice leave has been denied. The 10,340 people who've put their names to this petition are not asking for special treatment. They're asking to be heard in their own parliament. And twice they've had the door shut in their faces. So I ask this government—why are you ignoring Australians? What are you so afraid of hearing? The government's own backbench has been silenced and the opposition's been silenced. In fact, 10,340 people have been silenced—not once but twice.

From 1 April next year, this bill rips away the higher rebate for Australians aged 65 and over for their private health insurance. The Parliamentary Budget Office modelling, reported by the ABC, shows close to $1.6 billion of the savings will come directly from age pensioners. Polly, in my electorate, is an age pensioner from Beerburrum. She wrote to me about how she and her husband live right now. Their diet is poor because they can't afford to eat properly. They shower every second day because they can't afford hot water. When their doctor asks them whether they eat a healthy diet, what are they supposed to say? That is who this government is reaching into the pockets of. Labor calls this 'modernising'. I call it what it is. It's a tax on growing old, and it is disgusting.

This bill now goes to the Senate. Senators, listen to the people this House has now refused to hear. Scrap the pensioner tax. I seek leave to table this document of 10,340 signatures of people from all over the country opposed to Labor's cuts to older Australians' access to private health insurance.

Is leave granted?

It depends on whether it's a genuine petition, in which case it can be sent to the petitions—

Is leave granted or not?

Leave is not granted.

This is the third time that the government has refused to leave for me to table this document. It's the third time that this government has wanted to shut Australians' voices down. It's gutless. This government is gutless, and does not want to hear Australians.

Has the petition been approved by the Petitions Committee?

No, it has not, but that doesn't prevent me from tabling it.

Is leave granted for the document to be presented? No.

It's a miscellaneous document. Leave is not granted.

The member's time has expired.

Earlier this month, well over 100 people joined Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino and me at the Redfern Town Hall for an anti-scam forum. The message from the day was very simple: scams can happen to anyone. Scams have become extraordinarily sophisticated. What was once an obviously suspicious email, perhaps from a Nigerian prince, can now be a very professional-looking website, a fake video featuring someone you trust or a familiar voice generated using artificial intelligence. Criminals create urgency, build trust and sometimes spend weeks or even months convincing people that an investment or a relationship is genuine. Scams often involve tricking people into authorising a payment. That can make recovering the money very difficult, because the transaction has been approved by the account holder. It's another reason to contact your bank as soon as you suspect something is wrong. People who are scammed often feel embarrassed or ashamed. I've had constituents say this to me. They say this has stopped them asking for help, when acting quickly is critical. But the fault lies entirely with the criminals who've deliberately deceived them. There should never be shame in seeking support.

Assistant Treasurer Mulino spoke about the Albanese government's work to prevent and disrupt scams. Scam losses remain too high, but they've fallen from around $3 billion a year when we came to government to just over $2 billion. Australia's response brings together banks, telecommunications companies and digital platforms, because they all have a responsibility to protect Australians from scams carried through their services. The forum also gave local residents direct access to organisations that could help. Financial counsellors, community lawyers, government agencies, businesses and charities offered advice on scams, financial hardship, identity theft, fines and broader cost-of-living pressures. I thank the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Moneycare, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, Redfern Legal Centre, the Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia, Service NSW and ID Support NSW. I also thank St Vincent de Paul, the Older Women's Network, OzHarvest, Foodbank, Work Skills Australia, the Commonwealth Bank, AGL, Optus and Google for taking part in this fantastic day.

The experiences people shared show how convincing scams have become. Careful, capable people can be deceived, and no-one should believe that they're immune. The message is: stop, check, protect. Stop before handing over money or personal information, check that the person or organisation you're dealing with is genuine, and protect yourself by acting quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank, report the scam, talk to someone you trust—the sooner you ask for help, the better. I thank the Assistant Treasurer and all the organisations who so generously participated, and all of the local residents who turned up to inform themselves.

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.