Page 4149 - Week 14 - Thursday, 25 October 1990
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in the ACT. He has implied that we allowed on-duty rostered ambulance crews to attend public sporting events and that on those occasions the ACT was not receiving adequate ambulance services. In particular he also indicated that the practice of doing that did not occur under his ministry. I said in the Assembly on Tuesday that in fact that was the practice Mr Berry employed when he was Minister for Health. Mr Berry denied this and I am happy to produce the Hansard. I think I might read the full context from Hansard. I read from page 32 of the proof copy of Hansard of 23 October:
He points out that there was an ambulance crew under contract at a race meeting and saying, it is said that was a rather disgraceful thing to happen. Mr Berry has conveniently forgotten the fact that when he was Minister crews were also contracted to cover race meetings and other occasions like that.
Mr Berry: Fifth crews. Extra crews.
MR HUMPHRIES: No, not fifth crews, operational crews, Mr Berry. Mr Berry is telling an untruth to this Assembly, operational crews on occasions were operated while he was Minister and those on occasions meant that some person was not working on a rostered duty period shift. So I think that Mr Berry really ought to - - -
Then Mrs Grassby interjected, asking me to withdraw, which I did. Now, Mr Speaker, I want to read into Hansard, or incorporate into Hansard, evidence indicating that Mr Berry's statements were untrue. I wish to incorporate into Hansard a letter which I will read. It is addressed to me and it is signed by Mr Noel Gillard, the Acting Director of the ACT Ambulance Service. It is dated today. It states:
Dear Minister,
In response to your request I have forwarded the attached copies of our ambulance case-slips relating to ambulance attendance at a number of public sporting events during the last months of 1989.
The attached cases were attended by on-duty rostered ambulance crews.
The above is consistent with operational management procedure which has been in place since mid-1988 which provides for the on-duty Supervising Officer to use his discretion to utilise available on-duty rostered staff to attend public sporting events, or to supplement these crews with additional staff being called on-duty, on an overtime basis. There is no policy restriction on the Supervising Officer's discretionary function.
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