Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What never ceases to amaze me in this place is the hypocrisy of those opposite. After 18 months in government, I would put our track record up against theirs any day of the week—on health or any other issue. In fact, in the future I will be extremely happy to put up the 12-year record of the Rudd Labor government against the Howard-Costello mess of 12 long years in government. It was really interesting to hear Senator Cormann, who believes he is the new champion of health, talk about what is happening in every state around the country. As usual, the opposition, as they did when they were in government, have neglected Tasmania. They never mention Tasmania. Why? Because it is so embarrassing. If you want to talk about health, let us talk about the Mersey Hospital on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Let us talk about the Howard government intervening in health, shall we? Let us talk about John Howard and his election promises.