[Greens-Media] Greens broker better Medicare result

[Norton, Tim (Sen R. Siewert)]

Greens broker better Medicare result
Thursday 14th October 2008

The Australian Greens today succeeded in achieving beneficial changes to
the Government's Medicare Levy Surcharge Bill, enabling it to pass
through the Senate and benefit hundreds of thousands of ordinary
Australians.

"A new threshold of $70,000 has been agreed to, after extensive
negotiation. And very importantly, the Government has agreed to the
Greens' call for proper indexation of the thresholds based on the
Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) index, linking it to real
wages, to ensure individuals and families will not be caught out by
economic movements in the future," said Senator Rachel Siewert.

"The fairest outcome would be to remove the Medicare levy surcharge
altogether so that all Australians had the same choice about private
health insurance. However, within the current context, lifting the
threshold removes an unfair burden on lower-income Australians."

 "The Government has also agreed to support the Greens' amendment to
review the impact of raising the thresholds. This will ensure there are
no adverse impacts on the public health system as a result."

"It's good to see a result such as this can be achieved when the Senate
works co-operatively and responsibly, and I'm pleased that the Greens
were able to facilitate this important process," she concluded.
 
For more information or media enquiries please call Tim Norton on 0418
401 180
senator.siewert at aph.gov.au  |  www.rachelsiewert.org.au  |
www.greensmps.org.au