Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

What I have just heard is really quite a sad reflection upon the opposition to do with a very serious question which I was providing a serious answer to. It is not something that should be turned into a joke; it is a very serious matter. I have said what we are doing to address it. I am sure if Senator Williams reflected upon that he would then agree that this is a matter that needs to be addressed. We are working through the process, as I have indicated, because it is an important matter—not only the vignette of the small matter of a menu but more broadly how we address patient concerns, waiting lists and the systemic problems that the previous Liberal government left when they ripped a billion dollars out of the health and hospital system. What is needed is for both the opposition and us to support the system so that we can address not only those systemic problems— (Time expired)