Page 5969 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 8 December 2010

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MS BRESNAN: Mr Smyth was correct and I do apologise to the Assembly for getting this wrong. I move:

In paragraph (2)(b), omit “clause 24(3)(d)”, substitute “clause 23(3)(d)”.

That is the correct reference to the Public Interest Disclosure Act. So I do apologise to the Assembly for having that incorrect information in the amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Question put:

That Ms Bresnan’s amendment, as amended, be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 11

Noes 6

Mr Barr

Ms Hunter

Mr Coe

Mr Seselja

Ms Bresnan

Ms Le Couteur

Mr Doszpot

Mr Smyth

Ms Burch

Ms Porter

Mrs Dunne

Mr Corbell

Mr Rattenbury

Mr Hanson

Ms Gallagher

Mr Stanhope

Mr Hargreaves

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

MR HANSON (Molonglo) (3.45): I thank members for their contribution to this. I am bitterly disappointed that again the Greens have decided to side with their coalition partners, but—I hope to have time to discuss that later—as I mentioned in my previous speech this now seems to be a very consistent pattern of behaviour.

The response of the minister was quite interesting: “Trust me. I honestly mean this. Believe me, believe me. I am telling the truth this time.” But let us just remember that when this all came up we heard the same thing from Katy Gallagher then. The quote was: “What issues, Ross?”

This is the frustration I have. This is the denial: she knew nothing; she knew nothing. She said at that stage that there was nothing to hide, that nothing had occurred there. And it was not just her; this was the line that was coming out of the entire bureaucracy. We had the acting chief executive say the same. She said to the ABC: “There have been no complaints. No specific complaints have been brought to the attention of ACT Health.”

That simply was not true. Both Katy Gallagher and the chief executive were wrong—were quite clearly wrong—because what we know is that a whole series of complaints had been made and nine obstetricians had left. In fact, we know this categorically because the clinical review said there was evidence of systemic reticence to address staff performance issues in the maternity unit at the Canberra Hospital, particularly issues relating to inappropriate behaviour by certain medical staff.

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