Page 987 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 1990
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Also the health area within that policy with regard to this particular debate also shows our commitment to women and health. I take offence at what Mr Berry has said. I have seen press statements that say that this Government is selling off Acton Peninsula where the Canberra Hospital is. This is another untruth that the Labor Government is putting out again. No wonder the Government over this side gets fed up with your tactics of untruths.
With regard to this particular debate, I recently attended a seminar on a birthing centre dealing with the pros and cons of a birthing centre. Also, on Monday representatives from the ACT for Birth group came in to see me about what was actually happening and where we can work together to achieve a birthing centre in the ACT. Unfortunately, they were a little bit premature, but I will be meeting with them again in the next couple of weeks just to find out where we can go now.
In the Minister's speech yesterday Mr Humphries mentioned - and this is something that Mr Moore brought up - the fact that if we go ahead with a birthing centre or a birthing facility then the philosophies of that centre should be incorporated in development. Mr Humphries has already stated in his speech that this is what we will be doing. We will be having lots of community consultation as to the needs of the facility and what the philosophies are, so that it works well and it works in the way that the community wants it to work.
The Government has given a commitment to establishing a birthing centre at Woden. We are also having negotiations with Calvary Hospital about establishing a birthing centre there in the interim. Maybe something can be arranged within the next year, rather than waiting for the full establishment of the hospital redevelopment.
With regard to the overall obstetric service, the subcommittee of the hospital board, which is the maternity services working party, is looking at antenatal and postnatal services that are available in the ACT and finding out where there are deficiencies within the ACT and where services need to be improved. So there are things being done. Mr Moore said he thinks that this is a bipartisan motion. To me it just has inferences all over it that this Government is doing nothing and it is going to sell off and privatise.
I would like to make some comments with regard to the birthing centre facility. The birthing centre facility promotes the philosophy of care that encourages an environment for a family. I feel this is important. I have been involved in two homebirths with my sisters and I appreciate the experience that they had and that I had being involved with those births: the lead up to them; the actual births; and the experiences after the births.
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