Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has refused unveil his own plan for hosptial reform prior to Tuesday's televised debate with the PM on the topic, after ALP members laid into him for a lack of policy explanation.
Abbott criticised the Government, saying the last thing Australia needs is 'amateur-hour experimentation' with something as important as public hospitals.
"I have already said what public hospitals need is local control and more beds", The Australian newspaper reported Mr Abbott as saying.
"We already have a policy out there for local control of significant public hospitals in NSW and Queensland."
Earlier, the government took off its gloves off prior to Tuesday's debate and slammed Abbott's performance.
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ALP wants explanation
Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson said Mr Abbott must explain why he ripped $1 billion out of the hospital system when he was health minister in the former Howard government, and that he needs to outline exactly what the opposition's alternate plan is.
"I bet your bottom dollar that he'll go into that debate just criticising, opposing but not coming up with any constructive suggestions of his own," Dr Emerson told Network Ten on Sunday
morning.
"That's been his style so far."
Abbott should stop acting like a backpacker: Tanner
But Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner wasn't so soft on Abbott.
Tanner said it was time the coalition came up with some policies of substance.
"Tony Abbott's treating opposition like some kind of backpacking holiday where he's out there in the Speedos and on the quad bike and on the surfboard, occasionally dabbling in some
off-the-top-of-the-head policy announcements," Mr Tanner told the Nine Network on Sunday.
"That's OK for his first few months because people are interested in the new guy, but I think in the longer term that's really going to fall apart for him.
"It's about time he started paying attention to the substance of being an alternative government and giving people a serious choice on issues."
Abbott's policies must be scrutinised: Tanner
Mr Tanner called on journalists to analyse the policy alternatives put forward by Mr Abbott in Tuesday's debate.
He described Mr Abbott as an over the top, erratic and aggressive opposition leader, who had no substance and alienated people.
"Tony Abbott will throw out one liners and cute little numbers and he'll rant and rave and he'll accuse Kevin Rudd of lying, but it's long overdue that he was subject to some serious analysis
about his position on the future of the health system.
"If that happens, he won't win the debate."
