Mr LEE —My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Family Services. Minister, do you recall saying on AM this morning, in seeking to defend the Prime Minister's failure and your own failure on the latest private health insurance premium increases, `They have come in, both of them, with lower than would have happened otherwise'? Is the minister aware of the first paragraph of an MBF press release which states, `A notification of contribution rates as originally submitted by MBF has been approved by the federal government'? Minister, doesn't this show that you and the Prime Minister did nothing more than delay the announcement of these increases so that you could hide behind the visit of President Clinton? Who is telling the truth, Minister—you or MBF?

Dr WOOLDRIDGE —No, I am not aware of MBF's press release. What I would say is that there were several submissions and I am not sure to which one they are referring, but the original submission that they would have made back in October was quite different from what was granted. All I can assume is, firstly, they have either made a mistake, or, secondly, they are referring to a later submission that they put to us.