Mr McMULLAN (3:42 PM) —My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Can the minister inform the House if he was ever briefed on the $800 million blow-out in the four-year cost of the safety net—that is, substantially more than was revealed in the pre-election fiscal outlook to which he just referred—which was exposed when Treasury and Finance costed figures were released under the Charter of Budget Honesty on 27 September 2004?

Mr ABBOTT (Minister for Health and Ageing) —It is pretty hard for members opposite to say that there was some kind of conspiracy of deceit on the part of the government when the figures the member for Fraser referred to were published by this government before the election. There was no conspiracy; there was no attempt to deceive. Members opposite are trying to say that there has been some kind of travesty perpetrated on the Australian people by this government in respect of the safety net. I want to make three points. The first point is that when I made my pre-election statements about the safety net I made them in good faith. I absolutely believed them to be true. The second point is that the highest commitment of any government is to the long-term national interest of the country. This government reluctantly made a decision that it was necessary to restore the originally proposed safety net thresholds for the sustainability of our great Medicare system.

The final point I make is that this is not a question of members opposite supporting a low safety net threshold and members here supporting a high safety net threshold. They do not support a safety net at all. They would rip the safety net right off the Australian people. All this huffing and puffing, all this posturing from the member for Lalor and others—

Ms Gillard interjecting—

Mr ABBOTT —The member for Lalor is waxing indignant about this change to the safety net threshold. It is like Al Capone complaining that there are fewer policemen on the streets of Chicago! It is rank hypocrisy and it is totally unconvincing to the Australian people.

Mr Howard —Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.