Page 428 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 May 1992
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The Department uses a tendering process to determine the cheapest rates for their advertising needs. The Chronicle offers a cheaper rate and therefore is used.
That sounds fine, sounds reasonable, except for a number of points. If the department uses a tendering process, why was the Valley View not invited to tender? Without a tender, how can the department determine that the Chronicle rates are cheaper? In view of the phenomenal readership figures the Valley View achieves, was cost-effectiveness considered?
Finally, it strikes me as strange that, if the Government is, as it should be, concerned with reducing costs, it is refusing to accept the Valley View offer of free publication for the leisure centre. Instead, the Government is paying for advertising in the Chronicle.
The other issue is that the Government has the mentality that Canberra is still a one-horse, or a one-newspaper, town.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr De Domenico, your time has expired. We will pick up that other issue at another time.
West Belconnen Rugby League Club
MR LAMONT (4.28): I hope to stay at least three centimetres further off the ground about this next matter than the previous speaker did on his. Madam Speaker, all members of the Assembly would be aware that over the past couple of weeks I have approached them about becoming involved in a fundraising event for a well-known person in the Belconnen Valley, in particular by way of each member providing a $1 cash cheque to be auctioned at a function to be held on Tuesday, 26 May. I rise this afternoon to inform all Assembly members and those members of the public here assembled that that is the evening for the fundraising event, which will take place at the West Belconnen Rugby League Club.
This event is being held following failure by a medical insurance company to provide medical insurance for Ian Henry, a past president of the West Belconnen Rugby League Club, who was required to undergo a five-way bypass operation in Honolulu when visiting his daughter. The cost in Australian dollars of that five-way bypass operation amounted to $70,000 for hospital services alone.
What has happened is that the international insurer has said, "No, we will not cover this cost because it was a pre-existing condition", despite the clean bill of health Mr Henry had before he left Australia. Medibank Private in Australia said, "We changed our rules some time ago and you no longer qualify under our guidelines either". This means that, for the hospital and the operation alone, he is out of pocket by $70,000. I understand that the medical practitioner's expenses will come in on top of that.
His mates in the Belconnen Valley, particularly those associated with junior rugby league, have undertaken to seek legal redress against Medibank Private. That has not yet come to pass; but, even if it does, it will cover only a small fraction of the total cost. Mr Henry has given up a substantial part of his time to
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