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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 10 Hansard (24 November) . . Page.. 2775 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

During the 21 October 1998 committee hearing, the Minister advised that while he did not intend to seek tenders for either the management or the sale of The Canberra Hospital at this stage he would not rule out any option.

What I said was that I do not intend to do it, but I am not going to rule it out; in other words, I am not going to play your rule-out games. Mr Speaker, I have to tell the Assembly that I still do not intend to play the rule-out game. I do not intend to do it because I think it is silly. Mr Speaker, we could continue the rule-out game, but the end point of that is that we would wind up just giving away a full range of policies of the Government by not ruling things out. Of course, that is what Mr Berry wants to achieve.

Mr Speaker, I have to say that there are some issues in this report that the department will deal with and I will deal with. Like all committee reports, I take this one seriously. But I must say, Mr Speaker, when it gets down to having in the first recommendation something that is as pathetic as that, the committee ought to look at itself and ask itself whether it is going to undermine the committee process itself. That is something that you are going to do, especially when it is clear that it is the sort of comment that is really a personal attack and is probably more about personalities and personality differences than it is about the issue.

Motion (by Mr Berry, by leave) agreed to:

That the debate be adjourned until a later hour this day and that the order for the resumption of the debate have precedence of Executive business notices and orders of the day.

MS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (12.13): I move:

That the Assembly places on record its appreciation of the work conducted in health care by Miss Sylvia Curley and records its thanks for the outstanding contribution she has made to the Canberra community and the Territory.

Mr Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to make some comments with regard to Miss Sylvia Curley, OAM, who on 8 November 1998 celebrated her 100th birthday. Over 400 people attended a celebratory mass at St Christopher's Cathedral at Manuka to mark this very special occasion.

Miss Curley's life has been inspirational in many ways but, in particular, in her total dedication to achieving any set goal, however daunting. In her recently published book, A long journey, Miss Curley paints a vivid picture of life in this region before the formation of the national capital. Miss Curley was born at Duntroon where she spent

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