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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (25 August) . . Page.. 2431 ..

MR SPEAKER: All you have to do is to drop the last sentence and then it will be in order.

MR BERRY: That is fine, if you will not give me leave to incorporate it.

Mr Moore: We will not.

MR BERRY: Then I will move a further motion in relation to it later on.

MR SPEAKER: You may do that. That is perfectly in order.

MR BERRY: Thank you, Mr Speaker. (Extension of time granted) I seek leave to remove the final sentence.

Leave granted.

Mr Moore: Mr Speaker, can I just ask you to clarify the position? I believe that the last sentence, starting with "Furthermore" and ending with "bursars", is now deleted from Mr Berry's amendment.

MR SPEAKER: That is correct. Leave has been granted for Mr Berry to do that.

MR BERRY: The way that meaningful negotiations have been hindered in relation to this matter has been characterised by the confrontationalist approach the Government has taken to the nurses' negotiations.

Ms Carnell: You cannot require the Government to enter into meaningful negotiations with every man and his dog.

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell asks what "meaningful" means. That means aiming for an outcome. The Government's approach has been characterised by confrontation in other areas. I refer to the school bursars. There was an attempt to crush the school bursars. The Government's approach in relation to the Nursing Federation has been expected. All I expect is that there be a meaningful outcome to the negotiations and that services to the community be returned to normal as quickly as possible.

MS TUCKER (5.31): I am not quite sure what the motion is anymore. Are we still talking about bursars or not?

MR SPEAKER: No, we are not, Ms Tucker. Mr Berry has deleted from his amendment the second sentence, beginning with the word "Furthermore".

MS TUCKER: I will just speak to the general intent of what I think is Mr Osborne's motion and probably what Mr Berry is saying now. We support the motion, for a number of reasons. We are concerned about the provision of health care at Canberra's largest public hospital. We also support the right of workers to work in a safe and healthy environment and to be remunerated appropriately. I understand that there have been real issues about the cost of the Canberra Hospital and that comparative to other

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