John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, my question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Ludwig. Is the minister aware that some rural hospitals like Gilgandra and Coonabarabran in New South Wales can no longer serve meat to patients because the New South Wales Labor government has failed to pay its butchers’ bills? Given that these are just some of the many small businesses unable to obtain payment for goods and services supplied to rural hospitals and given that the government was elected on the promise that ‘Kevin Rudd will fix our hospitals’ will the minister intervene so suffering Australian patients are not denied proper meals by his New South Wales Labor mates?