Mark Baker (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Is the minister aware of claims that major reforms are required to Australia’s world-class health system? What is the government’s response?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Braddon for his question. I am pleased that he acknowledges that we have a world-class health system. He is not alone. No lesser authorities than the Prime Minister and every state and territory Labor chief minister acknowledge that Australia has ‘one of the best health systems in the world’. That does not mean that it is perfect, but it does mean that would-be reformers have to be careful lest they end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Crean interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hotham is warned!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Everyone would like to end the blame game over public hospitals, but the task of political leadership is not to devise a wish list but to explain how real improvements can be made. As far as this government is concerned, the way to end the blame game is for the federal government to run well the programs for which it is responsible, for the states to run public hospitals better and for both levels of government to manage the boundaries between their respective programs.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Gillard interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What you don’t do if you want to end the blame game is set up a new federal-state quango, a single funder, to run public hospitals which will mean that no-one is really in charge. I say to the new Leader of the Opposition that if he thinks that the states are mismanaging our public hospitals he should say so. If he thinks that he can better manage waiting lists, if he thinks that he can better control costs, he should tell us how. One thing he certainly should not do is seek advice from the member for Lalor. Even after five years as shadow health minister the best she could come up with was to say in her Earl Page lecture: ‘Anyone who has already made up their mind—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Gillard interjecting

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

about what governments should do in this area—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

hasn’t thought through all the difficult issues.’

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You have a problem with the truth.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader is warned!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No wonder she doesn’t get any questions in this House. She can’t make up her mind what to do and, if she could, she wouldn’t have thought through all the difficult issues.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Snowdon interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Snowdon interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lingiari is warned!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No wonder she thinks she is not up to being shadow Treasurer. And she is not up to being shadow Treasurer. On behalf of the Australian people, I have a simple request of the new Leader of the Opposition: show us the policies! The Australian people are not interested in who runs hospitals; they want hospitals to run better. If the Leader of the Opposition cannot show us the policies, people will quickly conclude that Labor made a big mistake when they so cruelly dumped Kim Beazley.