Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of answers to questions asked by all coalition senators.

Colleagues, you might remember that, before the 2022 election, the then opposition leader, now prime minister, Anthony Albanese, promised us all that under Labor's energy plan our power bills would be $275 cheaper. In fact, our power bills have gone up in the order of 30 to 50 per cent, depending on who you are, where you live and what your plan is. They've gone up so much that Labor has been forced to give two different sets of electricity rebates to consumers, at a cost to the budget of $6.8 billion. They are taking taxpayers' money in one hand and giving it back to them in another because their promise of cheaper electricity bills by $275 was manifestly not being met.

We also had the Prime Minister, before the 2022 election, promising that there would be no changes made to superannuation—none whatsoever; a categorical no. Of course, in the last term of parliament, and continuing in this term of parliament, Labor has introduced a new tax on superannuation: a higher tax on unrealised gains—yet to be legislated, but it's a commitment. Yet another promise that has been broken. We've had the Labor government promise that, under the housing commitment, 1.2 million new homes will be built by 2030. Well so far we're 476,000 homes short of that target—running behind, even in my own state of New South Wales, by about 70,000 a year. It is a commitment that is not going to be met.

It seems like in the last election campaign Anthony Albanese made another commitment that is equally rubbery. Many people will recall the number of times he sought to brandish his Medicare card and pull it out on all number of occasions: in debates, in campaign events and on the campaign trail. This is some of what he said:

Under Labor all you'll need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.

'One card covers it all. Not your credit card; your Medicare card.' How many times did we hear Anthony Albanese say that, under Labor, all you'll need is your Medicare card, not your credit card? Well most Australians would take that to mean that, when they go to visit their GP, it will be free; they will only need to provide their Medicare card, not their credit card.

As my colleague says, they didn't read the fine print! Suddenly the Prime Minister's election commitment is being added to. There's fine print. There are details. There are footnotes. There are addendums. There is detail that was not disclosed at the time of the election. We've heard, firstly, that bulk-billing rates under this government are 11 per cent lower than they were when the coalition left government. We've now had disclosed by the Department of Health, released under FOI legislation, that they told the government, in the incoming government brief, that one-quarter of clinics will not bulk-bill, despite any incentives that the government will offer. We had Mark Butler, the Minister for Health and Ageing, interrogated about this commitment this morning. He was asked, 'Isn't it true that you said every Medicare consultation will be free?' No, Mark Butler confirmed the truth, contradicting his own Prime Minister, and said that Australians will need more than their Medicare card. The truth is that we cannot take this commitment to the bank.

We heard the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Wong, say that they were going to make sure this commitment is reached by 2030. When have we heard a 2030 commitment before? We were told that our electricity bills would be $275 lower. Instead, they're 30 to 40 per cent higher. We've been told that 1.2 million new homes would be built by 2030, but, instead, we're about half a million homes short of that target. Now we're getting inundated with caveats and footnotes to qualify the commitment that Anthony Albanese has made. It's clear that, if you go to the doctor, yes, you'll need your Medicare card, but you will certainly also need your credit card. In fact, the average out-of-pocket expense for someone who goes to a GP has reached a high of $48.

We cannot allow this government to crabwalk away from this promise. This was a core election promise by them—that all you would need when you go to your GP is your Medicare card. They cannot be allowed to now say that that's caveated or qualified, that it's only if you go to certain GPs or that it is to happen by 2030 or if the coalition cooperates with this legislation. This is a deception on a grand scale, and it's up there with the government's promise to reduce your power bills, which didn't happen, not to make changes to super—they're legislating new taxes on your super now—and to build 1.2 million homes—they're half a million homes behind that target.