Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

It was not the one at the butcher's shop; apparently that one got cancelled. If you take the opposition leader at his word, what he said at the AMA dinner was that you can judge him by his actions, by his record as health minister. 'That's what I would be like as Prime Minister,' he said. Remember what his record was as minister for health? He cut $1 billion out of funding for public hospitals. He cut $1 billion. So he reinforces the message: you can expect the same sort of negative, budget-slashing approach that he had as health minister. In response to a question back in 2006 about queues for surgery, he said:

Cost and queues is what ensures that services aren't overused …

He supports the idea of people having to wait for essential operations. That is because he sees it as a useful economic tool. Mr Abbott would continue his policy of slashing access to health services— (Time expired)