Page 723 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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As the responsible Minister I am concerned that problems in the management - particularly the financial management - of the health system are of great magnitude and appear to have plagued the hospital system from the time when it was controlled by the Commonwealth Government. It is too much to ask the present Board of Health to resolve these problems overnight without substantial assistance. This is a matter for government.
It is clear that the management issues in the health system are systemic. As I have already said, they have already been experienced by previous governments responsible for ACT matters. It is, nonetheless, an immediate problem for this Government and one that I am prepared to face. In fact, as the Minister for Health I am determined to deal with these problems properly, as should have been done, in my view, by previous Ministers. Accordingly, I am determined that the best course of action that I can take as Minister for Health is to find out, first of all, why this budget overexpenditure has occurred, and what the underlying problems really are.
Canberra people need to be assured that the money is being spent properly, and the Government is determined to see that this is the case. Canberra people also need to be assured that the managers of the health system do their job effectively and efficiently. Against this background I have established an inquiry into the management of the health system. It will be an open and impartial investigation, conducted by a person with the kind of experience and integrity which will ensure confidence in the outcome.
I am pleased to announce that Mr John Enfield has agreed to head this inquiry. Mr Enfield has recently retired from the Australian Public Service after a distinguished career, most recently as the Public Service Commissioner and before that as Secretary to the Department of Territories. The other member of the team will be an accountant, with an appropriate understanding of government financial practice.
Referring now to the inquiry into health overexpenditure by the Public Accounts Committee, which was announced by the Leader of the Opposition, I would call on Ms Follett to provide any relevant material to the Government's inquiry. I encourage the Opposition to assist the Government in its objective of identifying and addressing any problems the inquiry finds in the management of the health system.
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