WebMail
My BigPond
The federal government has attacked the opposition for rejecting its private health insurance changes, saying it will now be tougher to return the budget to surplus.
The Senate has knocked back the government's plan to means test the 30 per cent rebate for private cover, giving it a second double-dissolution trigger.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said it had put a $1.9 billion hole in the federal budget.
'(Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott rants and raves about the budget deficit, but he's blocking the government's key initiative to try and rein in that deficit and get the budget back to surplus,' he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
'And he's doing that on behalf of high income earners.'
But the coalition says it has held the government to account, lauding the block as a victory for the 11 million Australians with private health insurance.
Singles earning more than $75,000 and couples on more than $150,000 a year now won't have to pay extra for private cover, unless the government chooses to go to an early election on the issue.
It already has another double-dissolution trigger in emissions trading.
