Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the response from Senator Cormann. I know that there are arguments, in terms of the way the threshold was first set by the coalition back in 1997, as to whether that was an appropriate level for it to do its work. I do not want to misrepresent the coalition’s position about how it was to do its work, but it took a while for it to have an effect in terms of its intended impact.

There has been no shift, though, from 1997 to 2008. The thresholds are the same. The cost of living has increased significantly in that period. Is the coalition saying that its position is that the threshold should never increase from $50,000 or $100,000? I acknowledge that there are other measures, community rating and lifetime cover, which are important in maintaining a healthy balance between the private and public sectors. I am just trying to understand what the coalition’s position is. Are you saying that this threshold, introduced for certain reasons for higher income earners back in 1997, is something that the coalition will not be budging on, given that more Australians are caught with it? That is why I proposed the amendment that it be moved in line with the CPI.