Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say I thought I provided a very detailed answer in response to the questions about the way in which indexation works. I would have hoped that the senator would understand how indexation works. That really deals with the issue he has raised.

The senator asked about public hospitals. I can say that we will not do what the Leader of the Opposition did when he was health minister, which was to cut $1 billion from Australia's public hospitals. They come in here professing concern on issues such as health and education, but what they really think is demonstrated by what they did when they were in government. The character of the Leader of the Opposition is demonstrated by what he did as health minister, which was to cut $1 billion out of Australia's public hospitals. That is the legacy of the Leader of the Opposition and it took a Labor govern­ment to fix it. Those are the facts, Senator. (Time expired)