Page 4836 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 11 November 2009

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Liberal’s position, which is to gift $200 million to a third party, we get nothing in return. Do you understand that, Mr Hanson?

Mr Hanson: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Stop the clock, Clerk. Mr Hanson, what is your point of order?

Mr Hanson: It is a point of order on relevance. We understand what she is buying. We want to know where the money is coming from.

Mr Seselja: It is a very clear question, Katy.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you. Ms Gallagher, if you could come to the question.

MS GALLAGHER: I have answered the question. The matter of how it is financed is for the government to consider. It will be done through borrowings or it will be done through our cash.

Mr Seselja: You haven’t worked it out.

MS GALLAGHER: There are two ways to do it, Mr Seselja. I am surprised you had to ask the question. We have got the cash, and if you have looked at the financial statements that I tabled yesterday you will see that the operating cash surplus was $542 million with a total cash surplus of $186 million. We have got the cash, but if we did not, it is still a good deal and we would borrow for it. (Time expired.)

MR SPEAKER: Mr Doszpot, a supplementary question?

MR DOSZPOT: Treasurer, what impact will the financing arrangements for the $77 million cash purchase of the Calvary hospital have on the future performance of the territory’s cash position?

MS GALLAGHER: It will be less $77 million. That is the impact it will have. If something costs $77 million, we take it out of our cash or we borrow, and we will be less $77 million. It is a pretty simple concept to understand. However, what will happen to our budget is that we will return to the people of the ACT an asset worth $77 million and any additional investments we make in that facility will be owned by the ACT. It will not be a gift of $200 million to an organisation, a third party, who, I think the opposition fail to understand, wants to sell it, and it will allow us to manage the rebuild of a north-side hospital in the most cost-effective manner. And nobody can dispute that; nobody has disputed it. Nobody has found that the Treasury analysis is wrong. Mr Hanson has not been able to do it. This is the most—

Mr Hanson: It’s just the way you’re spinning it.

MS GALLAGHER: Well, no, it is not the way we spin it, Mr Hanson. If you spend some money, you get something in return. We get a hospital, in return, as an asset on our balance sheet.

Mr Hanson: Isn’t there already a hospital?


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