Mr HOCKEY (2:53 PM) —My question is again to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to evidence presented to a Senate inquiry by the Western Australian state Labor government that the Medicare levy surcharge would add so much pressure to public hospitals that an extra $53 million a year would be needed to address the demand there. Where in the Treasurer’s budget papers is an extra $500 million a year allocated to the states to compensate them for the changes to the Medicare levy surcharge?

Mr SWAN (Treasurer) —I thank the member for his question. As I said before, these matters are all negotiated and discussed at COAG. The government does not for one minute accept the propositions that are put forward by the member opposite. But for the record we have already put an additional $1 billion into state public hospitals, not a bad record compared to your withdrawal of funds—the withdrawal of funds by those opposite over a long period of time.

Health is a priority and public hospitals are a priority for those of us on this side of the House. Of course they have never been a priority for those on that side of the House because they are simply stuck in the past and stuck with all of the old approaches, including their commitment to this unfair and unjust Medicare levy threshold surcharge. It is unfair and unjust, and it just shows how out of touch those opposite are if they are going to block this measure in the Senate which would deliver relief to people on average incomes who are doing it tough and need it. Five hundred dollars or $1,000 might not be much to the member for Wentworth, might not be much for the member for North Sydney, but we understand the importance of it, and if there is one thing that the national accounts demonstrate today it is that the people of Australia understand the importance of it. The fact that those opposite did not understand the importance of it is shown by the 10 interest rate rises in a row that hit those working families that you are punishing twice by trying to keep the surcharge.