Editorial:
What's behind the Medicare Levy?

The Howard Government, riding on the wave of support for military and 
economic assistance to the East Timorese people, has taken the opportunity 
to implement policies which would not otherwise be so readily accepted.

It is on this background that the Government has imposed a special Medicare 
levy on those with incomes above $50,000 per annum to help pay for the cost 
of Australia's military force in East Timor. This is definitely not the way 
to fund such expenditures.

The Medicare levy should be retained solely for health purposes. Once this 
precedent is established what is to stop Medicare being milked for other 
"one-off" needs? The Government imposed a "one-off" levy to pay for the gun 
buy-back — again using the popular demand that something be done to reduce 
the number of automatic weapons in the community.

The special Medicare levy is being sold as a "fair and reasonable" way to 
bring in money but this is far from being the truth. Most families with 
incomes of around $50,000 a year are by no-means well-off. 

There is no thought by the government of extracting the funding from those 
corporations and banks now recording obscene, record profits: they will not 
pay one cent towards helping East Timor. 

There will also be substantial tax cuts handed out to the wealthy next year 
when the GST comes into effect. The claw back of a few dollars by way of 
the special one year Medicare levy is peanuts compared to the extra money 
high income earners will have in their pockets as a result of those tax 
cuts.

Furthermore, the special levy to pay for the East Timor operation would not 
have been necessary at all if the Government had not squandered $1.7 
billion of taxpayers' money by way of subsidies to entice people to take 
out private health insurance.

This Medicare levy shows all the hallmarks of a Government that is 
incapable of any long-range political and economic planning except when it 
comes to finding ways to manipulate the economy for the benefit of its 
private enterprise mates. 

Taxes are to be increased for low income earners by way of the GST while 
allocations for public health, education, housing and other necessary 
services continue to be pared back.

In terms of international relations it means the Government making 
Australia a deputy sheriff of the United States and adopting an 
interventionist policy in Asia.

All this is now being justified under the umbrella of public sentiment in 
favour of helping East Timor.

There are plans afoot to substantially increase military expenditure and 
build up Australia's military forces both in manpower and hi-tech weaponry. 
A Defence White Paper is to be released next year and it is absolutely 
certain that it will recommend increased military expenditure.

The East Timor operation will also be used to justify a policy of 
intervention in Asia generally. We will be told that Australia has a key 
role to play in Asia and that because of our "strength" Asia needs 
Australian intervention to solve its problems.

Future problems could well be provoked on the Korean Peninsular, in 
connection with the reunification of China and Taiwan, or as a result of 
further political changes in Indonesia. 

How the independence movements in Aceh, West Papua and other areas of 
restlessness and revolt develop could be used as justification for 
Australia to muscle in.

It should never be forgotten that both the Liberal Coalition and the Labor 
Party strenuously backed the Suharto military dictatorship in Indonesia and 
supported the invasion of East Timor and its annexation by Indonesia.

Only when this policy was blown out of the water with the overthrow of 
Suharto by the Indonesian people, and with the independence struggle of the 
East Timorese, did the Government change its policy.

The leaderships of the Liberal and Labor parties have not changed their 
fundamental position. They now pose as champions of freedom as they pursue 
their imperialist and deputy sheriff role, riding the wave of genuine 
groundswell support for East Timor's independence.