Page 744 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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MR KAINE: It will be better a year from today because of what the Alliance Government is doing. In no way will you influence events over the next 12 months. You will sit there and you will whinge and you will complain, and you will put forward your spurious arguments; but in no way will you influence what happens in our hospital system in that time. One year from today we will have a very efficient and very effective hospital system that will provide the necessary number of beds, and will provide all of the specialist medical services that are required in a public hospital system to service the ACT. It will support not only the 300,000 people who live here, but the 200,000 people in the surrounding regions as well.
Let us have a look at the criticism that Mr Berry directs. In terms of hospital operations, I have already provided information about the budget for this year.
Mr Berry: Can I have a copy of that?
MR KAINE: I have read it into the record. All you have to do is read the Hansard. You can add up all the figures and come to any number you like. The fact is that I have already told you, although the hospitals administration has not even put in a bid, but has indicated the possibility of needing additional funds in some areas of their budget, that there has as yet been no budget adjustment for that. I would say that at this stage there is very little likelihood that some of that claim will be met by the Government this year. The Government will require proper management control for the remainder of the year to bring the budget back closer to where it should have been.
Unlike Mr Berry, we are not going to hand out money simply because somebody asks for it. It is going to have to be properly justified. You can go out to the media and shoot off your mouth about $12m. There is no basis for that in fact - no basis for it at all. I know that you have been out there giving them the great spiel about the $12m blow-out. I know what is going to appear on the front page of the Canberra Times tomorrow - Mr Berry's smiling face saying that we have a $12m blow-out. It is totally untrue. Of course, you are not interested in the truth. You are not interested in the facts. You are not interested in doing something constructive for this community. All you are trying to do is tear it down.
Looking at the hospital restructuring: Mr Berry, in his usual fashion, will use the usual throwaway line, "The restructuring program is out of control and we are going into a cost overrun". If he has evidence of that, I challenge him to put it on the table. Do not sit there muttering about it and giving your throwaway lines to the media. Put the facts on the table. There is no cost overrun, no blow-out, no cost increase in the restructuring budget for the hospitals - none whatsoever. You are full of bluster, but you are very short on facts.
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