Page 2805 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014

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But then, Madam Assistant Speaker, two arguments were advanced: firstly, that the effect of the ACT is so small that what we do does not matter. Well, I tell you, Madam Assistant Speaker, it certainly matters to the Canberra community. It matters, as they have said over and again, as we have heard this morning, as I have talked about previously—overwhelming support from the Canberra community to do something about climate change.

Then we had an academic theory lesson on individual behaviour and attitude. If we are going to talk about academic theory, Madam Assistant Speaker, I would draw your attention to Garrett Hardin’s theory in “The Tragedy of the Commons”. This is an economic theory about the overexploitation of common resources by individual action—resources such as oceans, rivers, fish stocks, atmosphere and global warming. Canberrans intrinsically understand this notion, that only by working together as a community can we achieve outcomes for our common good. And that is why they overwhelmingly support ACT government policy and a strong and progressive policy on renewable energy targets. I commend the motion to the Assembly.

Motion agreed to.

Leave of absence

Motion (by Mr Corbell) agreed to:

That Ms Porter be granted leave of absence for this sitting week as she is representing the Government at the International Association of Volunteer Effort 23rd World Volunteer Conference.

Sitting suspended from 12.28 to 2.30 pm.

Questions without notice

Canberra Hospital—bed occupancy rates

MR HANSON: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, on 11 September the executive director of the Canberra Hospital emergency department addressed staff concerns in an email entitled “Current ED issues” in which he reported that the “Canberra Hospital is frequently operating at levels over 95 per cent”. He raised concerns about the ability to access beds inside the hospital in a timely manner. He further stated that this had generated pressure on staff and that strategies implemented since 2012 “might be viewed to be the less than perfect solution for ED and the broader hospital”. Minister, are you aware of the less than perfect solutions that have been implemented and what, if any, negative impacts have they had?

MS GALLAGHER: If that email is the same email I have seen, it was quite a detailed email that went on to list a whole range of strategies that had been implemented. It was the new executive director who has been appointed to that position in the last two weeks communicating with staff about the range of initiatives that have been introduced and also accepting that bed occupancy and getting people out of the emergency department and into the rest of the hospital still requires further


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