Page 3008 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
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The reality is that a few months ago, when the Liberals ran their much-heralded health hotline - ring up and make your complaints - they got something in the order of 100 calls over 10 days. Not all of those were complaints. As we show regularly when we table the quarterly reports, we get far more commendations of the Woden Valley Hospital than we do complaints. But sometimes people make complaints; sometimes those complaints are justified; and we try to redress those. Sometimes perhaps they are not justified. People's perceptions - - -
Mr Humphries: Are these justified?
MR CONNOLLY: How can I possibly know that, Mr Humphries?
Mr Humphries: You have been given the facts.
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Humphries, no. Anything that is said by the Opposition in question time and the facts may coincidentally bear a relationship; but, more often than not, they do not. If you were serious about wanting to know the status of the treatment that Mr X or Ms Y or Mr Z received at the hospital, you would give me the details and let me pursue the matter and answer you. As you know, we have established a record over many months of doing exactly that. Many of you - I think probably all of you - have raised those sorts of issues with my office in the past and have got fairly rapid and, I take it, generally satisfactory responses. But, no, you do not want to do that now; you want to play politics. I would have to say to the citizens of the ACT, "You do not want your private lives dragged through the media by Mrs Carnell and Mr Cornwell". No doubt Mr De Domenico will have a question, Mr Humphries will have a question, and Mr Kaine will have a question. It is a silly way to proceed.
Madam Speaker, again I say this: The health system is under stress in the ACT; that is clear. We are working on strategies to fix it. Our strategies do not involve ripping over $30m out of public health. That is Mrs Carnell's strategy.
Mrs Carnell: As recommended by Arthur Andersen.
MR CONNOLLY: You go out there, Mrs Carnell, and you admit to the people of Canberra that you plan to take $31m out of the health system. You denied it in this place the other day. You vigorously denied that you wanted to take $31m out of the health system, and we proved that it was accurate. Now you have adopted another position, namely, "Well, it has been recommended". I do not care who recommends what. I am saying to the people of Canberra that the Liberals are going to rip $31m out of the health system. We are going to strive to find efficiencies in the health system to provide more social services, more social justice and more health services for this Territory.
MR CORNWELL: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Is it this Follett Labor Government's policy to discharge people from hospital without giving them the opportunity of obtaining home help and then forcing them to wait, until now, at least three weeks for that home help? Is that the policy of your Government?
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