The government says it cannot afford to keep 3.2 million pensioners in private health cover. Yet, as Jeremy Cordeaux pointed out on this Garage edition of the Court of Public Opinion, it has already committed nearly three times that sum to subsidising electric cars. Side by side, the two figures tell a story about priorities — and ideology.
The Maths Is Brutal
The numbers are stark. The over-65s health rebate costs around $7.9 billion. The electric-vehicle subsidies, Jeremy noted, are budgeted at $23.4 billion over ten years. The government will spend roughly three dollars propping up electric cars for every dollar it now cuts from older Australians’ health cover.
Put plainly, a government pleading poverty on health has found billions for cars. That, Jeremy argued, is no accident of budgeting — it is a deliberate choice.
An Obsession, Not A Necessity
Jeremy was blunt about the reason. The electric-car spending, in his view, flows from a green net-zero obsession — an ideological commitment that overrides colder judgements about value and need. The money isn’t being spent because the market demands it, but to serve a political agenda.
That reframes the health cut entirely. The government isn’t choosing electric cars over pensioners because it must; it’s choosing them because, on Jeremy’s reading, net zero ranks above 3.2 million older Australians.
Who Carries The Cost
The people who bear it, he argued, are those least able to. Older Australians pushed out of private cover fall back on public hospitals, adding strain to a system already buckling — and, he warned, costing taxpayers more in the long run than the rebate ever did.
Meanwhile the electric-car billions roll on, subsidising a product whose true market appeal, Jeremy has argued before, won’t be clear until the money stops. One group is asked to sacrifice; another is showered with support.
What Budgets Reveal
For Jeremy, this is what budgets really expose — not just numbers, but values. A government’s spending shows who and what it considers important. On this evidence, net zero and electric cars sit comfortably above the health of millions of older citizens.
His challenge was simple: if $23.4 billion is available for cars, $7.9 billion is available for pensioners. The only thing missing, he argued, is the will to put people ahead of ideology.
Listen To The Full Episode
Catch the complete Garage edition of The Court of Public Opinion, recorded live around the dining room table.
Watch The Full Episode
The Court of Public Opinion streams live every Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (ACST), right here at jeremycordeaux.com. Download the podcast anytime on your favourite podcast app, and join the conversation with your calls and comments.
