Page 991 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 17 March 2010
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$25 million to $30 million. That is going to be a significant challenge for us, and we seek to ameliorate the pain that that may cause. We are working very hard to do that in putting our budget together.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Mr Smyth?
MR SMYTH: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Treasurer, was the decision to freeze staff based on a recommendation from your $4½ million fly-in, fly-out razor gang, and how much of that $4½ million has been spent?
MS GALLAGHER: The thing with Mr Smyth is that he gets absolutely obsessed. It is like a balloon fiesta, isn’t it, this one? It is the $4½ million fund that is being used for the expenditure review committee. Not one cent has been spent yet. Not one cent has been spent of the $4½ million, but I cannot promise that one cent will not be spent. In fact, it may very well be spent. That has been put in place for the longer term recovery. We have $25 million to $30 million to find next year. That task grows to $80 million the year after and, indeed, about $140 million the year after that.
Those resources have been put there to help support additional work that will be done to support the longer term savings target. I am very supportive of it. Again, I am surprised that the opposition are opposed to it. It is quite sensible. It is an allocation of funds that is put there. That is the upper limit of that to be used. I do not expect that it will all need to be used. It is currently being taken out of the restructure fund, which was put there, I think, in 2006 precisely to deal with issues like this.
Canberra Hospital—obstetric unit review
MR HANSON: My question is to the Minister for Health and is in relation to the review into bullying and harassment in the obstetrics and gynaecology unit within the Canberra Hospital. Minister, can you advise the Assembly why you have refused to publicly announce details of the review, such as who will be conducting the review, the processes surrounding the review and how individuals can participate in the review?
MS GALLAGHER: I presume you are referring to the public interest disclosure process. I have been involved—
Mr Smyth: What’s in the review?
MS GALLAGHER: There are two reviews.
Mr Hanson: No, we want the secret bullying one.
MS GALLAGHER: We know that is the one you are obsessed with, Mr Hanson. The clinical review is just as important, dare I say—
Mr Hanson: And I am obsessed about that, too, minister; don’t you worry.
MS GALLAGHER: Oh, are you? Oh, right. Yeah, I really believe that! We have been very clear about the reviewers involved in that, a team of reviewers. But I do not
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