Michael McCormack pointed at Labor MP Rob Mitchell and told him to shut up. Photo: Senator Matt Canavan/Facebook.
Riverina MP Michael McCormack has claimed a win in his campaign to get the Federal Government to scrap its controversial $5000 allied health threshold for veterans, after the Senate backed a motion calling for the policy to be abandoned.
The Coalition joined forces with the Greens and One Nation to pass the urgency motion this week, putting further pressure on Labor over the changes due to begin in July next year.
The vote came after the former deputy prime minister went viral for an angry outburst in parliament, when he banged his lectern and told Labor MP Rob Mitchell to “shut up” during a debate about the policy.
“The minister should have banged the table and told them we’re not going to take any money away from veterans,” Mr McCormack said.
When Mr Mitchell interrupted him, Mr McCormack snapped.
“You shut up, Member for McEwen, you absolutely should shut up,” he said, pointing at the Labor MP.
The Speaker ordered Mr McCormack to withdraw the remark.
“I’m not going to withdraw it. He should shut up,” Mr McCormack said.
“He should use his voice to stick up for veterans.”
What is the $5000 threshold?
The government plans to introduce a $5000 annual threshold for allied health services for Veteran Card holders from 1 July 2027.
It covers services including physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapy, podiatry, exercise physiology, dietetics and speech therapy.
Labor says it is not a hard cap.
Once a veteran reaches $5000 in treatment in a financial year, their care will be reviewed. If further treatment is clinically necessary, the government says DVA will continue to fund it.
Labor says the changes are designed to reduce unnecessary treatment and improve access by increasing payments to allied health providers by $169.7 million over five years.
But critics argue the $5000 threshold will still create a bureaucratic barrier for veterans who need ongoing treatment.
The Coalition has labelled it a cap and says veterans should not have to seek government approval to continue treatment their doctors believe they need.
‘Scrap the cap’ campaign
Mr McCormack has been travelling around Australia meeting veterans and ex-service organisations as part of a national listening tour.
He said the message from veterans had been consistent.
“Veterans served this nation without a cap on their service and they don’t believe there should be a cap on their access to healthcare,” he said.
Michael McCormack with Northern Territory-based veteran Craig Wharton on his listening tour. Photo: Michael McCormack MP.
He welcomed the Senate vote and said he looked forward to the legislation returning to the House of Representatives next week.
“Hopefully, Labor can come to its senses, put politics aside and stand with the men and women who have served our nation.”
The Senate vote does not itself scrap the threshold. It is a political motion calling on the government to do so, meaning the fight will continue in the House and through the government’s consultation process.
Consultation on the new system is open until 30 October, with the changes due to begin on 1 July 2027.
McCormack weighs in on Hastie v Hanson feud
Mr McCormack also backed former serviceman and Liberal MP Andrew Hastie amid a separate political row involving One Nation.
Mr Hastie, a former SAS soldier, has been targeted in a One Nation cartoon that described him as a “traitor” over his evidence in the defamation case involving former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith.
Mr McCormack said the label was unacceptable.
“The last person who should be accused of being a traitor is Andrew Hastie,” he told Sky News.
“If Pauline Hanson has a cartoon up that is calling him that, she should remove it immediately and apologise to him.”
Mr Hastie has also called on One Nation to remove the cartoon, while Senator Pauline Hanson has denied directly calling him a traitor. The view count for the cartoon on YouTube has more than doubled since Mr Hastie requested it be taken down.
