Page 3009 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 June 2010
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investments and debts. Interest rates are forecast to rise and there remains a significant level of volatility in a range of markets. The Greens accept that the strategy outlined is prudent and provides for the appropriate financing of our debts.
In relation to investments, I would like to reiterate my comments in relation to the superannuation provision account, that all ACT government investments should be ethical. This year’s budget provides for a modest increase in payments for expenses on behalf of the territory. This increase appears reasonable and, given the nature of the service provided and the need for the effective management of the account, the Greens support this appropriation.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
Proposed expenditure—Part 1.12—ACT Health—$826,910,000 (net cost of outputs), $196,981,000 (capital injection) and $710,000 (payments on behalf of the territory), totalling $1,024,601,000.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (10.31): There has been a certain amount of discussion tonight about priorities. The health minister, in her capacity as Treasurer, talked about compromise. It would be characteristic to say that the people of the ACT are certainly having to compromise when it comes to delivery of and access to health services in the ACT. It is quite clear that the budget—not just this one, but the preceding ones—has not served the people of the ACT well when it has come to health. It is not necessarily the amount of money that has been appropriated but simply the way that it has been managed by this government and the directions to which it has been put.
I just want to say up front tonight, before I make any comments, that anything that I say is not actually an attack on doctors. It is not actually an attack on nurses. I am not having a go at health administrators. Yet a characteristic of this government, particularly the health minister if she is under criticism, is to spin it so that this is simply an attack on doctors.
I believe that when our health system is providing us a first-class service it is an excellent service. We have many of the best doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and health administrators in the country that we could ask for. The problem comes through the management, the minister, the ministerial oversight and the inability of Canberrans to properly access the health system. If you can get into it, that is great, but actually accessing it is increasingly difficult.
I will just go through, very briefly, some of the examples I am talking about. Elective surgery is one that I will go through in more detail later. Elective surgery has become absolutely atrocious under this government, and we will go through that further. I accept that GPs are not this government’s responsibility in their entirety—a fair share of responsibility must be taken by the federal Labor government—but there is no question that, under this government, under this denial that there is anything that it can do to appropriate money to support GPs, we have seen GP numbers in this territory declining to a point where we have the lowest number per capita. We are 70 short in FTEs, relating to 140 doctors.
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