Bill Shorten has said Australia is being treated by ‘mugs’ and private health insurance has become a ‘con’.

In a landmark speech on Tuesday, the Labor leader says he wants to change the way pay negotiations occur.

He blames three-years of minimal wage rises on big-bosses taking advantage of workers through enterprise bargaining agreements.

In Australia, private health insurance premiums on average will rise by 3.95% in 2018.

Ross Greenwood speaks with nib Health Funds CEO Mark Fitzgibbon.

“If he has concerns and frustrations he’s entitled to express those.

“If Bill’s open to a discussion about how we could make things better in terms of affordability and effectiveness of healthcare, we’re very open those discussions.

“We’ve worked very hard over recent years to keep a lid on premium growth.”

Listen to the full interview below