Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

It is totally relevant to this. It is totally 100 per cent relevant to this bill and why the Greens have opposed it all along. We support a safety net; we support a risk-pooling system. It was set up by the government to protect the most vulnerable Australians. That is exactly what you are taking away today. Yes, my example may be emotive, but it is very real of those vulnerable Australians, the ones who are most at risk from the changes we are going to see today. The Cancer Council also pointed out that active low-balance accounts most likely belong to low-income earners, something I think we all accept. I noted in Senator McAllister's speech in the second reading debate that it's women in particular who have experienced family related career breaks or part-time employment. Of course, many in part-time employment actually aren't covered by other workplace forms of insurance you would be covered with if you had full-time employment. Is the minister aware that this low-income cohort is 39 per cent more likely to suffer from cancer than those outside of that low-income cohort, given the stresses in their life and the challenges that they face?