Page 1518 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 2 May 1990
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be closed within a year. However, I have not seen the timetable that the department is producing for that, so I cannot categorically rule it out. However, I think it would be well nigh impossible to close a hospital in one year, particularly one of the complexity and size of Royal Canberra, and also given the fact that alternative facilities simply are not available at present.
As to when the moves might start, I think Ms Follett said that November was the rumoured date that she had heard. I really cannot comment on that. I hope that some progress will be begun on the development of the hospital system fairly soon.
Erindale Library
MRS NOLAN: My question is addressed to the Minister for Finance and Urban Services. Earlier this year he reversed a decision to open the Erindale Library and announced that it would open two nights a week during the first school term. What will be the opening hours for the remainder of the 1990 school year?
MR DUBY: I thank Mrs Nolan for the question. She said that I reversed a decision to open the Erindale Library. However, I reversed the decision to close the Erindale Library in the evenings, as a result of community concern over the lack of access to that library. The library hours have been set, and I have been able to have it open two nights a week. This was due to the need to reallocate library resources following the opening of the Tuggeranong Library. Since then we have done a review of the hours of library operation, and I am pleased to be able to report that the current hours of opening will be able to be continued through this year, particularly during the school terms.
Mr Speaker, those hours of operation are Monday and Thursday, 8.30 am to 5.30 pm; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8.30 am to 8.30 pm; Friday, 10.00 am to 5.30 pm, and Saturday, 9.00 am to 5.30 pm. The result of the survey that we have conducted of library users has indicated that these hours are satisfactory to the vast majority of people who make use of the Erindale Library, particularly during school terms.
Hospital Beds
MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister for Health, Education and the Arts. In light of the fact that the ACT has fewer beds per thousand population than elsewhere in Australia - 3.9 per thousand as opposed to 5.3 per thousand elsewhere, and I might say that is a direct quote from the steering committee report -
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