Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

On the question of the Commonwealth’s role in relation to health and hospitals, and our approach, which is a reform document for the nation to examine, there have been, firstly and secondly, six months of consultations by the health minister and myself with more than 100 hospitals across Australia—some of which the former health minister himself, when he was the health minister, never visited—and, thirdly, there is a decision-making framework with the states which will come to its conclusion very soon. I am very confident that those opposite, when they see what reform plan we have for the nation, will have a very stark choice indeed.

And let us remember, on the question of Commonwealth takeover, that there was a certain Leader of the Opposition, who was previously a health minister, who when asked about this question several years ago said that only one level of government should run the hospitals. He was advocating, then, a Commonwealth takeover of the hospitals. Then, when he becomes Leader of the Opposition, he backs away from it at a million miles an hour. It is a bit like last year backing the emissions trading scheme as Leader of the Opposition and this year saying that the emissions trading scheme is unacceptable. A few years ago he was backing a Commonwealth takeover of the hospital system; when he becomes Leader of the Opposition he pretends that that had never been uttered.

The government welcomes health and hospital reform. We have done more in two years than you did in 12 and the reform plan will be for you to back or oppose when the states and territories have reached their own decision in the immediate future.

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