Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hear the interjections from Senator Brown. I would be happy if a Labor senator did want to get up and say that Bob Hawke was seeking to undermine Medicare. I do not believe that is what he was doing; I believe what he was doing was seeking to make it sustainable. Many years ago, when we were spending a lot less than even when Andrew Leigh made his comments in 2003, he said: 'It is quite clear. I understand there is a very significant blow-out in regard to the Medicare situation in terms of servicing. What needs to be done, of course, is to ensure that both on the supply side and the demand side there be some restraint imposed because you can't have a situation where you're just going to have outlays growing as in the rate they were.' That is what Bob Hawke had to say.