Page 272 - Week 01 - Thursday, 24 February 1994
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HOSPICE
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MADAM SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mrs Carnell proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
The inappropriateness of the Government's hospice plans in light of the Health budget crisis.
MRS CARNELL (Leader of the Opposition) (3.09): Madam Speaker, Canberra's public health system is in a critical condition. I do not think anybody would doubt that. Nowhere was this demonstrated more clearly than in a telephone call to a Canberra radio station this morning. The caller told FM104.7 about his 18-month-old twins who were suffering from chronic middle ear infections. In fact, they have had 20 middle ear infections in the last eight months. He told the listeners that his kids, who regularly woke up screaming in the middle of the night, obviously in great discomfort, have had to be put on the waiting list for elective surgery. These two very young children are on the waiting list for elective surgery, but they have no date for surgery.
Today this father said aloud what most Canberrans are now thinking: That the real issue in Canberra is not about Ros Kelly and whether she should be sacked for her actions; it is about Wayne Berry and the fact that he should be sacked - I will use the words that this caller used this morning - "for his bastardisation of the ACT health system". They are his words, not mine. Minister, you can ignore my warnings about the dire state of our health system, but there are hundreds more cases in Canberra like this - - -
Mr Berry: Is he uninsured?
MRS CARNELL: I do not know. Are you?
Mr Berry: I just thought he might have said. If he is, it probably explains why he is waiting longer.
MRS CARNELL: There are hundreds more cases like this who will let you know at the ballot-box, Minister. That is the only option they have. They are waiting for surgery, but I am sure that they will be looking forward to the next election. I am sure that it cannot come soon enough for these people. This is not about whiteboards; it is about one man, Mr Berry, who is playing politics with the lives of Canberrans. He is a Minister who chooses to play politics when it comes to the establishment of a hospice and, of course, when it comes to our public hospital system - what little we have left of it. Crispin Hull, in an article in the Canberra Times, makes comment about the hospice:
A hospice for 17 people will be built on a site where no-one wants it, to fulfil a political promise that no-one cares about anymore.
I want this Assembly and Mr Berry to be crystal clear about what his mismanagement has done to ACT Health. Mr Berry often talks about providing me with lessons about health. Today I am going to pay him back with interest and expose the idiocy of siting a hospice on Acton Peninsula and the inevitable
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