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

I am happy to assist the House by withdrawing, Mr Speaker. This is what the Leader of the Opposition’s health minister in the Rudd Queensland Christian socialist Labor government told parliament in 1991: ‘I can confirm that under the restructured department of health the position of chief nursing officer for Queensland will disappear.’ Members opposite think the Commonwealth government, which does not employ nurses, must have a chief nurse but the Queensland government, which employs tens of thousands of nurses, must not have a chief nursing officer.

What is now clear is that members opposite in the Labor Party actually have four health policies. Their first policy is to have a single funder for health, if you believe the deputy leader. Their second policy is not to have a single funder for health, if you believe the shadow minister for federalism; their third policy is to have a chief nurse, if you believe the deputy leader; and their fourth policy is not to have a chief nurse, if you believe the Leader of the Opposition when he was the de facto Premier of Queensland.

He is a real piece of work, this bloke. He is not a socialist, but he is a Christian socialist. He attacks Howard’s utopia but he is happy to have Brian Burke as his Western Australian numbers man. He is a disciple of Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he is seeking Christian votes, but he is the associate of Brian Burke when he wants support in caucus.

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