During his time in Opposition he was Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and therefore the Deputy Leader of the Opposition from March 1993 to May 1994. In May 1994, Liberal Leader John Hewson called a spill for both the leader's and deputy's positions. Hewson lost to Alexander Downer while Wooldridge withdrew at the last minute as it became clear he did not have the numbers to beat Downer's running mate Peter Costello. Wooldridge's demise as deputy leader came as a result of an opinion poll that showed only 4% of voters preferred him as Liberal leader despite Wooldridge himself stating he had no desire to become leader. In response to this poll, Wooldridge argued on The 7.30 Report that 4% was a good result for a deputy leader as the deputy leader was not meant to be an alternative leader. Peter Costello, who replaced Wooldridge, became the party's longest-serving deputy leader. In 1996, the Liberal and National Parties were elected to Government and Wooldridge served as Minister for Health and Family Services from 1996 to 1998 and Minister for Health and Aged Care from 1998 up to his retirement in 2001. During his last term, he transferred from his marginal seat of Chisholm to the somewhat friendlier seat of Casey. During this time he instituted significant and widespread changes to general practice. By setting up and responding to the report: "General Practice, Responding to the Future With Partnerships", he commenced a reform process that cemented the divisions of general practice as change agents, took responsibility for training GPs away from the RACGP and into the hands of an independent body, and instituted the Practice Incentives Program. He was forced to make a public apology to the President of the Australian Medical Association at the time, Kerryn Phelps in 2001 for publicly claiming she had no medical qualifications. During Woolridge's term as Health Minister, he was criticised for having close links with multinational drug company, Pfizer that impacted the independence of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. Wooldridge was also criticised for appointing Pat Clear, a former executive of Glaxo-Wellcome Australia who had recently retired as head of Medicines Australia to the committee of the PBAC, prompting the immediate resignation of the Chair of the committee, Don Bikkett, and leading to the refusal of five of the other committee members to be reappointed.
Career after politics
In 2002, Wooldridge's contract with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners was terminated due to allegations from the Australian Medical Association and the Federal Opposition that his involvement in the allocation of the $5,000,000 represented a conflict of interest; in 2003 the parties settled and Wooldridge received a $382,500 payout. In 2006, Wooldrige was appointed 'Lead Independent Director' of the ASX listed Australian Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited. In September 2009, Wooldrige was invited to join a panel hosted by CSL Limited "a major manufacturer in a US$2 billion influenza industry" hosted by the company to dispel myths about swine flu vaccination Wooldridge has served or is currently serving on the Boards of Resonance Health Ltd, Dia-b Tech Limited and a Director of . He is currently Chairman of , Healthsource Australia, the and the . He is also Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. In December 2013, Wooldridge and four other directors of Australian Property Custodian Holdings Ltd were found liable by the Federal Court for breaching their duties as officers of APCHL. APCHL was the responsible entity of the Prime Retirement and Aged Care Property Trust, a managed investment scheme which owned retirement villages in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. APCHL collapsed in 2010 when administrators were appointed owing investors approximately $550 million. On 2 December 2014 he was banned as a company director for more than two years over his role in Prime Trust. Other directors, including founder Bill Lewski, received bans up to 15 years. Wooldridge also serves on the board of the anti-wind energy activism organisation, the Waubra Foundation, along with other prominent anti-wind energy activists, including Sarah Laurie, Peter Mitchell. and Kathy Russell. The Waubra Foundation promotes the view that wind turbines cause ill health. Wooldridge and family are objectors to the Bald Hillswind farm in Gippsland Victoria. Michael Wooldridge is the brother of Mary Wooldridge, Mental Health Minister in the Victorian State Government 2010–14.
