Page 2692 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 June 2012
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MS GALLAGHER: In fact, it does not hurt. What bothers me is the constant talking down of the health system. That bothers me. And it does not bother me because I am the Minister for Health or because I am your political opponent; it bothers me because of what it says about confidence in this city—the message that it projects from political leaders inside the ACT to people outside the ACT. That is what bothers me, and it bothers me from the point of view of the staff who work there. And do not for a minute think that that does not affect them. You cannot have those messages going out and it not—(Time expired.)
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (11.42): We see Ms Gallagher now as she leaves the chamber to avoid having a debate. We see Ms Gallagher’s standards in action. Katy Gallagher thinks it is all about her, because she is now trying to say that, if you go after her record, you are bashing Canberra. To go after Katy Gallagher and her record over the last six years as health minister and this government’s record over the last 11 years is somehow Canberra bashing. I will tell you what, the Labor Party is not Canberra. The people that are Canberra deserve better than they are getting under this government and under this minister.
Katy Gallagher has become an expert at trying to hide behind her staff and hide behind ridiculous notions that to go after her government is to bash Canberra. What an outrage! Do you think we are going to resile from keeping this government accountable? The truth does hurt. It hurts those people who have been suffering in our health system as a result of Katy Gallagher’s mismanagement. It is her responsibility.
She tries to hide behind everyone. Yesterday in question time she tried to hide behind her public servants, hide behind the hospital workers. She said, “You are going after them.” No, we are going after the minister who is responsible, the minister who has overseen a health system which was about the best in the country, which was amongst the best in the country, and has gone backwards at a rate of knots.
I note that in her ranting question time and in her 15 minutes today, she has not been able to dispute any of the facts. She has not been able to dispute one of the facts. The facts speak for themselves. Emergency times have gone backwards. Elective surgery times have gone backwards. They are the worst in the country. We can ask ourselves why when we see the way this minister hides from responsibility, shirks responsibility, bullies those staff who dare speak out.
Dr Bourke: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
MR SESELJA: We saw it—stop the clock, Madam Deputy Speaker, please.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Seselja, would you sit down, please?
MR SESELJA: We are just going to run down my time with spurious points of order.
Dr Bourke: Madam Deputy Speaker, I believe the allegation of the opposition leader about the Chief Minister bullying staff is unparliamentary and I ask him to withdraw it.
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