Page 2638 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 1991
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Hospital Redevelopment Project
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, my question is addressed to the Minister for Health. Given the fact that the Health Minister has already announced to the media today the results of his review of the hospital redevelopment project, will he inform the house what effect the scrapping of the private hospital project will have on the total number of hospital beds, public and private, by the year 2000? Is it not the case that there will be 150 fewer beds available under his new plan than under the Alliance Government's hospital redevelopment project?
MR BERRY: I was, of course, going to mention this matter in my ministerial statement, and still will; but let me say this: A cornerstone of the Alliance Government's hospital redevelopment program was the establishment of a private hospital. It was a very strong indication that the Government was about squeezing the public sector to enhance the viability of a private hospital in the Australian Capital Territory. It is also clear that there is no demand for private beds in the ACT and there is very little interest in developing a private hospital.
Mr Humphries: How would you know? You have not gone through the process.
MR BERRY: You get the chance to ask the questions. Just let me put the answer.
Mr Humphries: You are not answering it.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries said that I am not answering. I am not giving him the answer he wants. What I am doing is giving him an answer that is based on what he did when he was in government. We were left with a hell of a mess in the hospital system after the decline of the Alliance Government. Mr Humphries knows that Labor's initial promise to provide a community hospital at the Acton site was undermined by the Alliance. In fact, it was sabotaged as the Alliance poured millions and millions of the community's dollars into the fast-tracking of the closure of that hospital. As I have said, a cornerstone - - -
Mr Jensen: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I draw your attention to standing order 118, parts (a) and (b), which say that answers to questions should be concise, should be confined to the subject matter and should not debate the matter. It appears to me that Mr Berry is in his debating mode at the moment, not the questioning and answering mode.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, I would certainly uphold your objection, Mr Jensen. Mr Berry, I am looking at standing order 118(b); I think it is relevant.
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