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

Privatisation makes a great deal of sense, particularly in areas where there is fierce competition. There is a world of difference between Medibank Private, which is just one—admittedly the largest, but it is just one—private health insurer in a large and competitive market, and the Snowy Hydro, which was a virtual monopoly. It certainly is a public utility. Sure, we can always improve structural weaknesses in the health sector, but workforce shortages have already been very substantially addressed by this government. Again, no-one likes the rising costs of health, but this government, through measures such as the Medibank safety net, is doing a lot to handle that.

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