Page 3530 - Week 13 - Thursday, 26 November 1992
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MR BERRY: Whether you like it or not and whether you want to agree with it or not, elective waiting lists are part of every public hospital system around the country.
Mr Kaine: Only because there are not enough resources put in to eliminate them. It is like housing lists.
MR BERRY: Here we go again - spend more, spend less. The Liberals would have people standing at attention beside empty beds, using somebody else's money to do it. That is the sort of thing the Liberals would do when they are in opposition. Of course, it is quite the reverse when they get into government.
The numbers and types of operations on theatre lists are determined by the relevant surgeon, surgical bookings office staff and bed allocations staff. Most lists have one major case and three to four day cases. The proportion of in-patient and day cases is influenced by the availability of in-patient beds and the urgency of the case. Elective bookings of theatres are occasionally limited to one major case and one day case when bed availability is low, for those urgent cases which I mentioned earlier. These lists are usually supplemented to full capacity, when one major case and one day case is less than full capacity, by the addition of emergency and semi-urgent patients in the 24 hours prior to the list. It should be noted that some major cases occupy up to two sessions alone. I think Mrs Carnell's question was simplistic, Madam Speaker, and did not take account of all of the facts which affect the way efficient hospitals have to operate these days.
PAPER
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services): In question time today I said that I would provide for Mr Humphries's edification the ALP discussion paper, "Labor's Approach to Sexual Assault Law Reform", issued the other day by Mr Carr and written by Ms Sandra Nori. I table that paper for members.
PETROL PRICES
Paper
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.14): For the information of members, I present the report of the ACT Government Working Group on Petrol Prices. I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
Madam Speaker, this working group was established in December of last year. At the time, the Government released a draft fuel price control Bill for community comment. The working group comprises senior officers from the Chief Minister's Department, the ACT Treasury, the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning and my department, including the Consumer Affairs Bureau, and is chaired by Mr Len Sorbello, Deputy Law Officer, Constitutional and Law Reform Branch, of my department.
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