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

One last question; I will go back to my earlier question which you didn't answer, Minister, because you said it was outside the scope of this bill. If that is the case, if the data that Rice Warner has provided is correct, why hasn't the government worked with the insurance industry to tailor and provide a product, whether it's TPD or life insurance, that does factor in age and income? If the data is there and the actuaries do have this information—don't get between these companies and a bowl of money. They know the kinds of risks they're pricing and what kinds of returns they're going to make. And I absolutely agree that they have been gouging customers, including this most vulnerable cohort. Rather than removing the safety net of default insurance, would a simpler solution be to have the insurance priced properly? If everything you've said in here is correct and you have confidence that the trustees have a relationship with the dependants under those systems and they have that information, then why don't we actually put in place a system where they can price these products properly? That would take away the whole issue of cross-subsidisation and allow us to maintain a system that protects our most vulnerable Australians.