Page 366 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 1990
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validity to it. As he is well aware, I am in touch with the ACT for Birth association to consider its claim for such a centre. I will be opening its seminar on the 24th of this month. I am very much apprised of its arguments for a birthing centre and will be considering them positively in the context of the ongoing budget debates.
Mr Berry also called for an inquiry into the high intervention rates in obstetric services in the ACT. That idea is one which I will also consider. I think it obviously cannot be ignored. There may already be explanations as to why that occurs. You do not have an inquiry when you already know the answer, or at least that is not my view of what you should do with an inquiry. Therefore, it is my intention to explore whether that idea for an inquiry has any merit.
Finally, Mr Berry mentioned the idea of a 24-hour mental health crisis service for Canberra and extolled its virtues. I share that concern and aspiration, and I would very much like to see that happen.
However, I have to depart from Mr Berry's views when he said that the previous minority ALP Government, in putting aside $150,000 for that service, was kicking off the ball in that regard and that we ought to have acknowledged its contribution to the start of that process. The fact is that, notwithstanding what Mr Berry said today, $150,000 is not sufficient to start a proper 24-hour mental health crisis service. Mr Berry might not like to admit it, but obviously when he put up that figure in the budget, he was perhaps improperly advised about the amount that such a service would require in order to get under way.
Having spoken to people in the area, within my department and the mental health lobby, I am certainly convinced that the amount is grossly insufficient. If Mr Berry does not accept my word, I refer him to a letter in the Canberra Times of 5 February this year, in which Libby Steeper, the convenor of the Mental Health Task Force, wrote about this issue. She said:
$150,000 was allocated in the ACT Budget for just such a service. The Minister for Health, Mr Gary Humphries, has rightly said that it is insufficient to provide a decent service.
With respect, I think that person is in a position to know. I could indicate, Mr Speaker, that it would be possible for us to put some money towards such a service getting under way - for example, as Libby Steeper suggests, planning the extended-hour service or training workers in the skills that they will need. The problem with that is that it is not a proper 24-hour crisis service; it is merely preparation for one. I, for one, would not go down the path of spending money on a service until I was sure that we were able to find the money to provide properly and adequately for the people of Canberra.
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