Ms MACKLIN —My question is directed to the Minister for Family Services. On Radio National this morning, you said:

Those who do clearly have assets over the stipulated amount—

that is, $22,500—

they will need to make financial arrangements if they want to move into a nursing home.

Minister, over 70 per cent of pensioners have one asset—the family home. Why do you not simply come clean and admit that pensioners will have to sell their family homes to get nursing home care?

Mrs MOYLAN —I felt that I did fully answer that question in answer to the last question that was asked. I made it very clear that this government will not force people to sell the family home in order to enter a nursing home. It will be based on a person's need for care, not on a person's mean, but clearly where they have an asset they will be asked to make some contribution.

I would like to draw the attention of the House once again to a letter to the editor of 19 September 1996 from a former minister in the Labor government, Mr Gary Johns. I am not going to quote from the letter, but he followed up his letter with a radio interview, which he did on 19 September last year. I would like to quote it. The reporter asked:

So in fact, the Liberal-coalition government has really introduced something which should have been a policy applauded by the Labor Party?

Mr Johns gave a brilliant reply:

. . . the policy is correct. We'd already done it for hostels. I think it would only be a matter of time, if we remained in government, that we would have imposed it for nursing homes as well.

Mr Beazley —Mr Speaker, I take a point of order on relevance: if you're going to quote from a letter or an interview, you should quote the whole lot. Mr Johns concluded by saying, `Come on comrades, support this; it is a death tax.'

Mr SPEAKER —There is no point of order. Resume your seat.

Mrs MOYLAN —He went on to say, `It's logical, it's fair, it's reasonable.'