Page 3702 - Week 12 - Thursday, 22 November 2007
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parts of it appear to be more progressive than the committee’s report, and that is quite unusual.
MR SPEAKER: Dr Foskey, can I intrude for a moment. There may be some confusion about time limits for this debate.
DR FOSKEY: I have 15 minutes.
MR SPEAKER: In fact, two other people have already spoken for 15 minutes, so the limit for those speaking in this part of the debate would be 10 minutes.
Ms MacDonald: Mr Speaker, could I suggest that, as we are having a cognate debate, and normally Dr Foskey would be able to make two 10-minute speeches, the government would be quite happy for Dr Foskey to take 15 minutes.
MR SPEAKER: Well, the time limits still apply. That will be up to Dr Foskey.
Mr Hargreaves: On the point of order, Mr Speaker—
MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr Hargreaves: On the point, I signal to Dr Foskey, so as not to interrupt her contribution, that this was an honest misinterpretation, I believe, by a number of us, including Dr Foskey. If, at an appropriate time, Dr Foskey seeks an extension of time so that she can speak for a further five minutes, the government will support it.
DR FOSKEY: It actually says 15 minutes on my cheat sheet, so—
MR SPEAKER: I think we have had enough discussion about this, Dr Foskey.
DR FOSKEY: Yes, time is ticking away. I am quite sure that Dr Peggy Brown, who is the Director of Mental Health ACT and the ACT Chief Psychiatrist, would have been involved in preparing the government’s response. Last night I attended a Mental Health Consumer Network meeting at which Dr Brown gave a very detailed outline of her idea of a perfect and appropriate mental health system.
Certainly, after hearing that, I believe that Dr Peggy Brown has a very strong vision of where mental health in the ACT should go. At the moment it is limited primarily by a lack of resources, but I am hopeful that, with the government’s increase in funding, so that 12 per cent of the health budget is going to mental health, a lot of the things that she has on her list—both clinical and community-based mental health services—will proceed. That is certainly something that I will be watching with great interest.
I recognise that the government has made significant commitments via the 2007-08 budget, including the 24-hour “step-up and step-down” facility—which the mental health community has been asking for and welcomes—and outreach program as an alternative to hospitalisation and the design of an adult mental health acute in-patient unit. Community health consumers emphasise the need for community-based care over clinical care. I think they would like to have both, but they would like to see
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