Page 4825 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MS GALLAGHER: I have answered that question. There is no contradictory statement. There is a matter being investigated. That is a subsequent individual complaint. The policy has not been breached and the policy is not being reviewed.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Dunne?
MRS DUNNE: Minister, what confidence can the public have in your management of public health matters when there is inconsistent and contradictory information being put out between you and your department?
Ms GALLAGHER: We can see that those questions have been prepared beforehand, because there is no capacity to change them based on the answer that I have given. I have answered that: there is absolutely no contradiction between what the Chief Health Officer has said. He has said there is no review of the policy. There has been no breach of the policy, but he has indicated—
Mrs Dunne: That’s not what he said yesterday.
Ms GALLAGHER: He indicated that a subsequent matter has been raised, and he is investigating that. In fact, I do not think he is, I think the hospital is, as it has management of this issue. That is where there has been some confusion in the media, and obviously there has been confusion in the opposition. But there is no confusion from a public health point of view—it is being handled. Everything is being handled, as these matters always are, with the expertise and skill of all those involved in contact tracing related to tuberculosis.
MRS DUNNE: Supplementary question, Mr Speaker?
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mrs Dunne.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, has the first incident that was recorded in the Canberra Times been investigated by anyone in the health department?
MS GALLAGHER: I am not sure what you are talking about about the first incident. The issue of this tuberculosis complaint—
Mrs Dunne: Not the subsequent one that you are currently trying to talk about.
MS GALLAGHER: Everything about this is being followed through and examined very closely—as it always is, Mrs Dunne; I am surprised that you would not know that. These matters are treated very, very seriously by the health department and by the government. Everything gets examined closely to ensure that our response was adequate from the beginning. All the advice to me is that it was and it has been handled in accordance with the policies that are required. That is not to say that individuals have not been upset about that. That is what we regret and we are sorry for.
Planning—federal government
MS LE COUTEUR: My question is to the Minister for Planning and is in regard to the federal government’s possible intervention in ACT planning processes. What was
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video