Congratulations Australia! Unbelievable as it seems, common sense has triumphed at last.
Like every other industrialized nation in the world you mean?

Well, I don't want to derail the thread, but I can't help myself. Those I know in the medical field in Denmark and in France think that the socialized model is piss poor. I have friends in other parts of Europe (Spain, Italy, Austria, and England) that also find the model disagreeable. The only place that I haven't heard tons of negatively about their system is in Germany.
There was a politician in this country a while back named Barry Goldwater. He said, about Healthcare, that you can have 2 of the following three when it comes to healthcare: 1) universality, 2) quality, 3) affordability. This is a subset of the "Pick two of 1) fast, 2) good, 3) cheap" saying for other parts of an economy. From what I have witnessed in my travels, and heard from other people, socialized medicine is choice 1 and 3. The U.S. system is 1 and 2. When my life is on the line, I would rather pay the premium for quality.
Also, I find the entire idea of transfer payments abhorrent. Why should one person be forced to pay the bills of someone else, just because they have been more successful? It smacks of theft to me. I'm with Ayn Rand; one of the worst stories to to children is the story of Robin Hood.
Anyway, I apologize to the OP for the hijack, but this is a subject I feel quite strongly about.

Why is universal health care considered a bad thing? Surely it's in everyones best interest to be healthy so we can join together as one and point and laugh at atkinson

Wait. Hold on.
Since when are there humans in Australia? Why isn't a Koala the AG?

Do you want to pay Atkinson's medical bill? Huh? HUH?

Victory, at last!
I just hope, dear Aussies, that your new Attorney-General won't be such moron as Atkinson.

We kinda simul-posted. Basically, I just don't like redistribution of wealth mandated by a government. I don't mind helping folks out, but I want it to be my decision, not a law (I prefer to give locally, not to the nation as a whole). It also doesn't hurt my case that it has been shown that quality suffers once health care is socialized (usually from increased bureaucracy).

Tell me, what does "cost of care" mean to you? Surely, someone has to pay for your expensive medical procedures. Also, the term, "everyone's best interest" translates nicely to, "tyranny of the majority" or "what the elites think is good for us." Neither are particularly exciting concepts.

Hmm, there's an argument brewing here over passive selfishness vs mandated compassion but just this ONCE, I'm avoiding derailing a thread. This is a day of victory

Yes. Without his health and life, he cannot finally come to realise he was wrong or cannot wallow in depression at his defeat at the hands of his own selfish criminal tendencies

Another job well done

Congratulations Australia! Hopefully, your downward spiral into a fascist dictatorship can be reversed now :-)
Now, get cracking on reviewing computer game classification laws, so you can get out of the middle ages (anachronistic, I know) and into the present day where the rest of us live.
Seriously, how long do you think it'll take for every ridiculous decision that nutcase made to be reversed?

Another fascist down! Good work, free world.
It's not true. Because the money will be spend on the cheap medicaments for masses, and expensive medical prodcedures will be as rare as openminded politic.
Welcome to the era of new communists europe.

Slashdot article
For Australian citizens, there is apparently this activist website that might be helpful.

Great news for Aussies!
Now it's:
Yes 95.91% (1125 votes)
No 4.09% (48 votes)
LOL

Yes - 96.56% (1207 votes)
No - 3.44% (43 votes)
Seems some of the "no"-voters changed their mind.