Page 58 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 14 February 2012
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DR BOURKE: I thank the member for her question. There is a range of reasons why the report on government services indicates a higher cost per day for the ACT. The primary reason is that the capital amortisation of our prison is included in that figure. Because we have a new prison, compared to other jurisdictions, the capital amortisation bumps up the cost per day.
MRS DUNNE: A supplementary question, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mrs Dunne.
MRS DUNNE: Why does the ACT have the highest real operating expenditure per day per prisoner for 2010-11?
DR BOURKE: We do have the highest operating cost per day. We also have the highest prisoner education enrolment per day—90 per cent compared with a national average of 35 per cent. We have a human rights compliant prison. We have a prison where prisoners experience on average 13.3 hours a day out of their cells—20 per cent more than other jurisdictions. These are the reasons why our prison costs more.
MR SPEAKER: Supplementary, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: My supplementary to the minister is: to what extent has the ongoing issue with prisoner capacity at the AMC impacted on the high operating costs?
DR BOURKE: It is a simple fact of economics that, if you have a range of fixed costs and you put more prisoners in, the cost actually goes down.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, a supplementary.
MR HANSON: To what extent does the high cost of the AMC reflect on the poor management of your predecessor, Mr Corbell?
DR BOURKE: Mr Speaker, that asks for a reflection on Mr Corbell, and on a point of order—
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: That was the answer.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: We will move on to the next question. Are there any further questions? Mr Doszpot.
Health—general practitioners
MR DOSZPOT: My question is to the Minister for Health. The recent Productivity Commission report on government services showed that the ACT recorded the lowest
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