The Abbott government surely made history this week for the speed with which it dumped its plan to slash the Medicare rebate for short doctors' visits less than one week after people realised it was being introduced.

Since the government spent the better part of last year sticking to unpopular policies it was eventually forced to dump, perhaps the best thing that can be said about the latest backdown is that the government dealt with it expeditiously.

The Abbott government was forced to dump plans to cut the Medicare rebate for short doctor visits 24 hours after the Prime Minister defended it. Credit:Daniel Munoz

That does not say much about the government's ability to press ahead with difficult policies but it does indicate it has learnt that if it is going to get rid of a policy then it might as well do it quickly.

Here's a look back at some of the government's other unpopular policies: