Latham's lines to the True Believers on PBS

Whilst the big guys get to make the tough decisions, it's the little guys who have to do the explaining. This week, Mark Latham and the caucus movers and shakers made an almighty compromise on increasing costs to consumers of listed drugs as part of the PBS scheme, and whilst he might have been a tad red faced answering to the media, one of the Lathamettes needed to draft a credible explanation to the punters. A true believer emailed the Dear Leader with some concerns about the ALP selling out on battlers, and received a template response.

At least they're honest about it:

Labor wants to deliver on the most important priorities for all Australians – such as health, education and families. To do this, Labor has to make tough decisions about spending priorities.

This is one of these decisions. It provides us with $1.1 billion additional dollars to spend.

But then again, some of it is just plain silly:

Labor maintains that a substantial proportion, if not all, of the $1.1 billion of savings can be achieved through:

• administrative reforms to the PBS; and

• making proper allowance for the savings likely to be achieved as a result of drugs moving off patent and the subsequent availability of cheaper generics.

Yep. Sure. No doubt about it. Presumably there was no room for the third bit "Mr Latham believes there is $700 million down the back of the couch in doctors' waiting rooms."