Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

It is interesting that Senator Cameron should use his five minutes on the Report on GST revenue sharing relativities: 2010 review to mount one of the few defences of Mr Rudd’s proposed health scheme. We all know, and I think Australians generally know, that Mr Rudd’s scheme was, as always, all talk and no action. Of course, it was designed to take the attention away from the Labor government’s pure mismanagement of the giveaway insulation program overseen by Minister Garrett. Mr Rudd had to do something, so he tried to divert attention with this hastily thought up hospital program. Curiously, that is why I came into the chamber—to talk about GST relativities and to try and find out from the Labor government exactly how they were going to take 30 per cent of GST revenues from the states and feed them into this particular program. Of course, we all know that, as silly and completely incompetent as most of the states are—and I exclude Western Australia from that—they will not give you 30 per cent of the GST, Senator Cameron, and you knew it, and so did your leader, Mr Rudd. And I see you nodding in agreement with me. So you have all known that this great hospital plan will not—