Page 1835 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 19 August 1992
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Mr Kaine: Which part of it - the bit that you belong to or the other bit?
MR BERRY: The Labor Party. What the Liberals want to do is subsidise the private hospital industry and the private insurance industry with tax concessions from the Federal Government, which will come out of the pockets of the taxpayers ultimately.
We have made it clear that we intend to implement a comprehensive independent complaints unit. That will go across both the public sector and the private sector. We have said that there will be extensive consultation; but, of course, the Federal Government have talked about the Medicare hospital patients charter and there will be extensive consultation in relation to that matter. The States and Territories, of course, will be asked to enact complementary legislation. This will, of course, sit well with this Government's announced policy on an independent complaints unit.
Mrs Carnell: They do not get funding unless they do.
MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell said, "They do not get funding unless they agree with you". That is a quite appropriate course. The Federal Government is going to set the pace for the rest of Australia. Unless Mrs Carnell wants to get into the States rights argument, like the loopy Right in Queensland, we need not go down the track of arguing about that. What I am talking about is a national health policy which is about delivering affordable, accessible health care to the people of Australia. The Liberals are not interested in that; all they are interested in is subsidising their big business mates. They have made that clear. They do not care about the ordinary person in the street who might be forced into a cost of up to $46 a week for private health insurance. Their stated objective is to force people into that.
What will inevitably happen will be that the rights of the people of the ACT will be defined. They will be protected by way of what has been announced by the Federal Government in their budget announcements last night and the very progressive stand that is being taken by Labor in the ACT. That will result in all users of the health services in the ACT getting a better deal, a far better deal than would be achieved under the Liberals. Indeed, if the Liberals were to have their way, the health system, not only in the ACT but across Australia, would suffer a great blow. Labor supporters, of course, are sworn to fight against the likelihood of those sorts of proposals being implemented throughout Australia. Fight we shall, because it is well worth fighting for.
Public Hospital Services
MR HUMPHRIES: My question is to the Minister for Health also. I refer to the announcement in yesterday's budget that some public hospital services are to be contracted out to the private sector. I have two questions of the Minister. I ask: First of all, what sorts of services does he believe will be bought in from the private sector in the ACT? Secondly, how does this accord with ACT Government policy on contracting out of public services to the private sector?
MR BERRY: I think that what Mr Humphries has asked is a matter of opinion for me. He should talk to the Federal Health Minister if he wants to know what the Federal Health Minister has in mind. He said that some matters might be contracted out.
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