General practice in crisis: Mark Butler and the hard rain about to fall

Knowing your PIPs from your SIPs is impressive but not necessarily to federal Treasury, writes Paul Smith

Whatever happens over the first term of this new government, its Minister for Health, Mark Butler, can’t plead ignorance.

Judged by his appearance at the AMA conference on Saturday, he knows stuff.

For Peter Dutton, one of his more infamous predecessors, speaking publicly always seemed a high-wire act.

If he strayed off script or even asked a question, your heart jumped a little, fearing he would fumble, blunder and fall — his only safety net being the politician’s media training in obfuscation.