Senator CHRIS EVANS (10:59 AM) —I wish to indicate, on behalf of the Labor opposition, that we will be supporting this amendment. We have grave concerns about the government's proposal that ministerial approval of health insurance premium increases be deregulated. We have a series of amendments which seek to protect the public interest on the issue of premium increases proposed, but we think that the Democrats proposal is stronger and better. If that can find support in the Senate chamber, then we are happy to see that occur.

If that did not occur, then we would seek to move our amendments, which at least try to provide some control over the government's deregulation and find a middle ground. But the principal issue, which is outlined in the Democrats amendment, is the one that we support—that the minister continue to have the ability to approve or not approve increases in private health insurance premiums.

One can argue about how successful this has been over time. I think it is fair to say that it may not have been the most successful measure in controlling the premiums and the direction of policy adopted by private health insurance organisations. Senator Lees makes the point quite rightly, and I tried to emphasise this in my speech during the second reading debate, that we have just invested a huge amount of public funds in this industry—$1.7 billion of Australian taxpayers' funds. We have effectively bought a 30 per cent share of the private health insurance industry. We have taken a 30 per cent option in private health insurance. This is not the time for us to say, having made that massive investment, that we want to remove the Commonwealth's ability to monitor and effectively control movements in prices and the premiums charged.

It is ludicrous to suggest that, on the one hand, you want to make a massive investment in an industry and, on the other hand, you wish to downgrade your effective influence on and control over that industry. It is vital at this point that we resist the government's attempt to walk away from political responsibility for premium increases in the private health insurance industry. It may well be that there are better public policy options available in terms of providing effective public influence over what occurs in the pricing of private health insurance, but clearly this is not the time to be walking away from the Commonwealth's involvement in this process. It is clearly not the time for us to be loosening our influence on an industry in which we have made such a massive investment.

The opposition will be supporting the Democrats amendment. If that is defeated, we would obviously seek to move our amendments, which are aimed at ensuring at least some effective government control in the short term and resisting the push to full deregulation, as proposed by the government in its third phase. At this time the Democrats proposition is a much better one and that ought to be supported by the Senate.