Mr SIMPKINS (6:40 PM) —I rise to take the opportunity to raise the concern of hundreds of my constituents and other residents in the northern suburbs of Perth about the government’s decision to cut the rebate for cataract surgery from $623 to $311. I also seek leave to present this in-order petition of 442 names under the name of principal petitioner Maureen Grierson.

Leave granted.

The petition read as follows—

from 442 citizens

Petition received.

Mr SIMPKINS —This petition is a demonstration of the depth of community concern that the people of Perth have for this issue, because it is an issue that affects real people, the people whose names appear on the petition. This decision has a human cost and an outcome where those who can least afford to pay extra will be forced to pay extra or they will be forced to endure delays to surgery. This is about a reduction to the rebate that will seriously impact upon the 70 per cent of operations that are undertaken in the private system and the 30 per cent in the public system. The impact will fall on 120,000 to 140,000 Australians who need that surgery each year. The cost will be delays in access to surgery and greater cost for those in the public system, and it will undermine the current no-gap arrangements for private health insurance products. With any reduction in cataract surgery access by distance or cost there comes a downstream cost of risk to health for those who cannot get the surgery, in terms of falls, broken bones, depression and social exclusion. The government have made a mistake and they should do as my petitioners ask and restore the rebate to provide access for those who need it.