Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on the matter of public importance proposed by the member for Dickson in the following terms:

The Government’s failure to deliver on its commitment to fix public hospitals.

I do not mind copping a belting if we have done something wrong, but what I will not cop is hypocrisy of the highest order from those on the other side. At the outset, I want to address a few things said by the member for Dickson. He talked about focus groups. The other night I watched the third episode of The Howard Years. The previous week I watched the second episode, and who featured prominently? Mark Textor, the prominent pollster that the Liberal Party used for 11½ years. Of course, everything was scripted to focus groups and polling. The former Prime Minister, Mr Howard, was a perfectionist when it came to that sort of stuff. So I will not have that levelled at us when we had 11½ years of it. In the end, not even Mr Textor could save the former government. Arthur Sinodinos talked about a train coming at Mr Howard. Not only did it come at him; it cleaned him up.

The member for Dickson talked about my pending retirement, whenever that might be. I will tell you the difference between the member for Dickson and me. When I leave this place it will be at a time of my own choosing. When the member for Dickson leaves it will be his electorate throwing him out, like they threw Mr Howard out of Bennelong at the last election. The interesting thing is that on election night we thought that the member for Dickson was in a bit of trouble. He fell over the line. I think the member for Curtin and Deputy Leader of the Opposition is probably one of those people who wishes that what we thought at election time had actually transpired, given what is happening.

When it comes to public hospitals, the hypocrisy of it! The former government bled public hospitals over 11½ years. I will give you some figures. They are not my figures; they are figures relating to the Australian Health Care Agreement in 2003. In the portfolio budget statement of 2003-04, under the Health and Ageing portfolio on page 106, this is what happens—

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