Page 1215 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 24 April 1990
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This Government is faced with tight monetary constraints - constraints which were endorsed on 20 April 1990 by the new Federal Territories Minister, Mr David Simmons, in a program on Capital Television when he said, among other things:
You're in for a big shock because that's not the reality. We're living in tough economic times and people expect governments to make decisions.
Mr Speaker, the Ambulance Service Levy Bill is in accord with the sentiments expressed by the new Labor Federal Minister for Territories, Mr David Simmons, who indicated very clearly that we are living in tough economic times and that people expect governments to make decisions. Those decisions, as he clearly indicated, may well involve big shocks. That statement is there in a Monitair transcript, and I think it makes a mockery of the hypocritical turns and twistings of the more junior Labor element opposite.
While adopting the levy approach, the Government also considered submissions from the health insurance industry, which included a levy on household rates, drivers licences, motor vehicle registrations and driving offenders. These approaches were rejected in favour of the levy on health funds in line with the New South Wales approach because, for example, the removal of the link between the use of the service and its costs could lead to over-servicing and decrease the efficiency of that service.
Again I remind the Assembly that here we have followed a New South Wales approach, which indeed was the approach adopted by the Follett Government when it was pursuing this self same thing. Do we hear the Follett Government accusing itself of Greinerising? No, we do not. This again demonstrates the inconsistency of the commentaries on fiscal matters coming from those opposite.
The advantages of having a scheme similar to that of New South Wales are: alignment of rates with New South Wales, minimum additional administrative burden for health funds already required to maintain appropriate records and funds already identifying ACT contributors in order to exclude them from levy payments in New South Wales.
The effect of the levy is to require the health funds to pay 49c per week for single rate and 98c for family rate. It is anticipated that the health fund will pass on the levy to ACT contributors in the form of increased health fund fees - that is, $25.48 per annum for single contributors and $50.96 per annum for families. Persons not insured by health funds will be able to contribute to a voluntary scheme administered by one of the health funds or paid directly for the cost of ambulance services used. Pensioners and persons holding a current health card will be exempted from the scheme and provided with free ambulance services. I commend that Bill to members.
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