This is the first in a two-part federal election series. Next week we’ll look at what Mark Butler, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, and his government have delivered over the last three years.

Senator Anne Ruston’s appearance at a posh parliamentary lunch with health industry bigwigs last week carried some significance.

The election date was freshly announced; audience members were no longer going to be witnesses to a phoney war.

As the Opposition’s health spokeswoman, her speech was about marking battle lines — a difficult semantic task given the two main parties are offering voters a me-too package.