Mr HUNT (Flinders—Minister for Health and Minister for Sport) (14:25): Let me put a very simple proposition: Labor hates private health insurance. We love private health insurance. This idea that they are proposing is not government policy, will not be government policy and will never be government policy under the coalition. Do you know what? When I first heard about this, when we first discussed it in February, on the first day that I discussed this with the department I took it off, rejected it from the COAG agenda and said: 'No, thank you. There's a reason we're not doing it. It sounds like Labor policy.' And do you know what? It is Labor policy. Here is what we saw on the front— The SPEAKER: The minister knows the rules on props. Mr HUNT: I am reading through my notes, Mr Speaker. The SPEAKER: The minister will remove his prop. Mr HUNT: 'Fears ALP to axe $6bn health insurance rebate'. Labor's plan to scrap $6 billion rebate would 'destroy' Medicare. That was on the front page of The Australian only a month ago. It further states: The private health insurancerebate could face further cuts under Labor after confidential discussions between insurance groups and the opposition sparked fears the $6 billion rebate could be abolished … There we have the shadow Treasurer with his head down now. He knows we have caught him ratting around and briefing private health insurance groups that he wanted to do what the member for Sydney did, and that is rip the heart out of private health insurance. Last time, before Labor came into government, they said that they would not touch private health insurance. What did the member for Sydney say after they left government? 'How did I pay for it? I paid for it by targeting private health insurance.' That is what the member for Sydney did. She ripped the heart out of private health insurance, and that is what the shadow Treasurer has been doing. They have been caught going around the private health insurance groups, looking to strip private health insurance and then to abolish it. Let me be absolutely clear: this idea of a Commonwealth hospital benefit is rejected clearly, categorically and absolutely.