Yet Willis's memory

was recalled by fed

eral health minister

Abbott's opportun

istic comments re

Royal North Shore

Hospital.

Abbott used a wom

an's tragic miscar

riage in a hospital

toilet as a chance to

bash the NSW

government.

The Granville train

disaster happened

months after Nevil

le Wran's Labor

Party defeated the

Willis coalition

government.

Willis opined post-

Granville that there

had been far fewer

train deaths when

he was in govern

ment. One pre

sumes it was a crass

comment he later

regretted.

Since Abbott has

more front than

Jessie, Bessie and

Tessie, it's hard to

imagine his regret

ting any crass

pointscoring in the

blame game.

The obvious retort

to Abbott is that if

he could find a

squillion to fund an

irresponsible and

indefensible de

cision to save the

Mersey Hospital

specialist unit, he

could find a spare

squillion to solve

Royal North Shore's

problems.

But then Abbott has

seemed to have all

his time as the min

ister for attacking

Kevin Rudd in this

interminable elec

tion year.

Which is not to say

state governments

are beyond criti

cism.

The NSW govern

ment is on the nose

with everyone but

overts weren't given

an alterantive at

the state election.

And any govern

ment which ap

points Reba Meagh

er as health minis

ter is inviting prob

lems, but then the

hospital system's

problems have pre

ceded Abbott and

Meagher and have

afflicted govern

ments of all stripes.

Governments can

even merit sym

pathy. For all the

criticisms, Aust

ralia still has one of

the world's best

health systems and

that system has

vast sums thrown

at it.

Increasing patient

demands and medi

cal breakthroughs

to meet them, mean

there can never be

enough money but

there can be a bet

ter way of adminis

trating the system.

Making decisions

based on policy and

not on polls and

allowing doctors to

doctor, nurses to

nurse and re

searchers to re

search is crucial to

that.

And fitness fanatic

Abbott would do far

better preaching

the virtues of pre

ventive medicine

rather than throw

ing mud at Rudd.