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

It seems that those Liberals on the other side need help to understand that the 11 years of neglect cannot be remedied overnight, cannot be fixed with a silver bullet, cannot be remedied instantly. Their neglect and their position of ripping $1 billion out of the health system ensures that issues that arise in New South Wales such as the senator outlined do need both a COAG and a New South Wales solution in tandem.

Those opposite have not turned their minds to what we have been doing New South Wales wide, where the number on long elective surgery waiting lists has been almost halved in the year to June 2008 to 40 patients. What we have been doing is working with the New South Wales government in the hospital area to ensure that we can address some of the systemic issues that are reflected across the system, such as the one you have raised, Senator Williams. Those issues are important. It is important to ensure that these matters are addressed, but what those opposite fail to appreciate is that they left the problem unaddressed. They ensured, having ripped $1 billion out of the health system, that we would not be able to address it overnight.