The coalition has announced that if it wins the next election it would devolve management of major public hospitals to local boards.

Boards would be made up of community representatives, a director of nursing, a chairman of medical staff, and a chief executive officer, and would be given the power to set hospital funding and oversee levels of care.

Abbott is comparing the takeover to the NT intervention?!

"Particularly in NSW and Queensland, where chronic systemic mismanagement really requires federal intervention along the lines of the intervention in the Northern Territory's remote communities back in 2007."

Firstly, the NT intervention is not a success and should be stopped.

Secondly, I am probably in favour of the coalitions plan. But the problem (from what I remember back in the UK) is that local boards can sometimes get major political pressure applied when things go wrong and the press turns against them. So the coalition's plan must have something in place to deal with that.

Finally - it seems very unlikely that the coalition will win the election, so will this be like their ETS that they took to the last election. Will it be something that they then completely disown?