Page 2947 - Week 10 - Thursday, 16 August 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
maintain. This is something, of course, which you do not comprehend.
We have had an attack on him for his handling of the health system; again, we have exactly the same problem. When the member opposite was Minister for Health we had no plan whatsoever to deal with the burgeoning costs of health in this Territory. We had seven months of no decision; not a thing was done in relation to the health system.
Mr Humphries: A $7m hospital blowout.
MR DUBY: We had seven months of blowout as a result of having - - -
Mr Berry: No services cut.
MR DUBY: There have been no services cut under this Government and under this Minister either. Not only that; there was no plan whatsoever to deal with the expansion of costs in the health system. When this Government came to power it found that under the guidelines that the previous Government had been adopting we would have had a blowout in the budget this year of $40m.
Mr Wood: Absolute nonsense! You came in with a surplus, for heaven's sake.
MR DUBY: Because of prudent management on our behalf. We would have had a $40m blowout, and that is indisputable.
Mr Wood: You know that is nonsense.
MR DUBY: If you do not believe me, go and speak to the Treasury officials; that is all you have to do. Not only that; the previous Government had been told it was going down the gurgler and it was not prepared to do anything about it.
Mr Wood: That is not the case. You know it is not the case.
MR DUBY: It certainly is. Anyway, in talking about a motion of censure against this very capable Minister, I would like to turn to no better person, I would imagine, than someone who was regarded as, shall we say, one of the founding fathers of this Assembly - one Paul Whalan, former Deputy Leader of the Opposition and, I might add, leader even to this day of at least two members of the Opposition when they are outside this house. He has run away. He has hidden. Mr Whalan said:
I would also like to place on record my admiration for the manner in which Gary Humphries from the Liberal Party has approached his ministerial duties. I am conscious that he is sitting on the hottest set of financial and administrative challenges and I do not envy his role over the next couple of years.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .