Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ian Campbell, the Minister for Human Services. Will the minister inform the Senate what action the government is taking to protect the Australia taxpayer by cracking down on welfare and identity fraud? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Mason for his interest in an area that is important to just about every Australian family. We must ensure that the people of Australia who want to access welfare benefits, Centrelink payments, student assistance, Veterans’ Affairs entitlements or Medicare payments get those payments, get them on time and, increasingly, get them online using electronic means of servicing. Also—and I am sure Senator Mason would care about this—we must ensure that those people who are ripping off the system, ripping off the Australian taxpayer, are brought to justice. We must create a system that ensures that welfare payments and support are delivered efficiently and effectively to the people who need them.

That is the reason the government is bringing in a smart card—the Australian government smart card—to ensure access to these services. The government wants to ensure that, instead of having to fill out potentially up to 19 different application forms for services and concessions around Australia, you can do it once, you can do it securely and the government will know who you are. The smart card will ensure that your identity and information are protected.

The senator asks about alternative policies. The current Medicare card we use was sent out by the Australian Labor Party in 1984. Of course, the Labor Party would yearn for the good old days of the Datsun 200B, the 1984 car—

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr interjecting—

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the days when Senator Carr’s comrades in the Soviet Union were on the other side of the Berlin Wall.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, come to order!

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Berlin Wall was still up. Senator Carr pines for those days—he loved the old Berlin Wall, except that Senator Carr was on one side of the wall and we were on the other.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Chris Evans interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Evans, shouting across the chamber is disorderly.

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Rudd and his friends pine for the days when Cyndi Lauper was on top of the charts. They remember—Mr Rudd, Tanya Plibersek and the rest of the Labor Party brains trust—the days when Mick Young was struggling with a Paddington bear. A lot of us remember those days. That is when the Medicare card was invented, and that is what the Labor Party think we should stick by. We think that in a society where identity fraud is becoming a major problem—as Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says, between $1 billion and $4 billion is being ripped out of the system—we can design a better system.

The Labor Party is all over the place on this. Senator Mason asks us: is there an alternative policy? There are dozens of alternative policies. Talk about the signs of an inexperienced opposition that cannot get its act together! This is worse than Mr Latham and his Medicare Gold, which was just throwing money at everyone—it did not matter whether they were sick or they had cancer. This is Medicare Gold all over again. You have Kelvin Thomson, the former shadow minister, saying the smart card is a good idea, you have Wayne Swan in Queensland saying it is a good idea, but down in Sydney you have Tanya Plibersek saying, ‘No, we’re against it,’ and that people will be ripped off Medicare lists and young people will not be able to get Medicare. As Senator Scullion said earlier, Labor is spreading misinformation about this, trying to scare young people into believing that they will miss out on Medicare because of the smart card, when the smart card is all about ensuring that young people do get their Medicare.

The Labor Party are all over the place on this. I asked the Queensland transport minister, who is bringing in a smart card for Queensland and who wants to cooperate with the Commonwealth on this, to tell his comrade Mr Rudd to pull Comrade Plibersek into line on this. They are all over the place. It is a sign of inexperience. It is a sign that they have not moved on from the Latham period. (Time expired)

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I remind you that when you are referring to someone in the other place you should refer to them by their correct title.