September 28, 2022
Senator Anne Ruston
Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care
Shadow Minister for Sport
Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate
Liberal Senator for South Australia
Senator James Paterson
Shadow Minister for Cyber Security
Shadow Minister for Countering Foreign Interference
Liberal Senator for Victoria
The Albanese Labor Government is once again on the backfoot as it has been revealed that personal Medicare numbers have been included in the Optus data breach.
While Optus bears significant responsibility for this security failure, this does not exempt the Government from its public responsibility.
Minister Butler must advise all Australians what direction he has provided his Department to actively protect the confidential personal Medicare numbers that have appeared in the data leak.
Medicare is a fundamental pillar of our healthcare sector, and is relied upon by tens of millions of Australians each year for healthcare and as a trusted form of proof of identity.
There are many urgent questions to be answered by the Government including how many Medicare numbers have been compromised, if new Medicare numbers will be required for every customer effected, and how long that will take?
