Ms MACKLIN(Midday) —I really want to reinforce this point, because we will all be going out into our electorates trying to explain, particularly to older people, whether they are eligible. The Minister for Family Services (Mrs Moylan) is saying that we have great difficulty understanding; that is why we are asking the question. Is it the case that 29,000 people are going to lose their eligibility? Is that the case? I take it by her silence that it is the case.

I also noticed that when the Minister for Health and Family Services ((Dr Wooldridge) put out a press release about this issue at the beginning of February this was one of the facts that he failed to mention in his press release. He did not mention the fact that these seniors were going to lose access to Australian Hearing Services. We now have the minister refusing to answer questions about the eligibility of 29,000 older Australians. I think we will just have to take it that it is the case that 29,000 people are going to lose their eligibility, unless the minister is able to tell us otherwise.