Page 2653 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 1991
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I call upon the Government to bring in those Bills and a few other self-evidently very urgent Bills as quickly as possible. I am sure they would receive immediate support on the floor of this house and could be passed straight away. They are small Bills and they involve lives. I finalise my comments by saying that this program will tell the Canberra community that there is a stable, hardworking Assembly in this place, and I believe that this program, as did the Alliance's program, does great credit to the great range of public service advisers that support legislation; and, in effect, this continuing raft of legislation reflects the development of self-government - and there it is.
Debate (on motion by Mr Humphries) adjourned.
HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM - FEASIBILITY STUDY
Ministerial Statement and Papers
MR BERRY (Minister for Health and Minister for Sport), by leave: Mr Deputy Speaker, you will recall that last week I outlined the commitment we have as a government about the need to develop and to maintain an accessible and affordable public hospital system in the ACT. I spoke of our significant concerns about the previous Government's hospitals redevelopment project and our reasons for carrying out an urgent review of the project, focusing on the future of the Acton Peninsula.
The Government recognises fully the importance of providing a comprehensive and high quality hospital system in considering the results of the study and in assessing a strategy for the future. We have decided to proceed with the redevelopment of the Woden Valley Hospital as the principal hospital. It was a Labor idea and we are pleased to proceed with it. Labor adopted this proposal as policy in 1989 and we remain committed to the concept of a principal hospital at which a full range of specialist services and modern hi-tech equipment are available. We know that the community is behind us on this goal. We have always expressed our support for that concept.
The redevelopment of Calvary public hospital will also proceed. We have moved to acknowledge the special value of the Acton Peninsula as a site for public health care facilities. These decisions have not been easy ones, but we believe that they are the best possible for the community.
Mr Kaine: They should have been. They are the ones we took a year ago.
MR BERRY: If you listen for a little longer you will know that they are not.
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