Page 1096 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 1991
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The director of radiation oncology has arranged for the manufacturer to provide equipment as required, and that sort of equipment comes through very quickly. Obviously also additional equipment is required. The Government has a commitment to providing an additional linear accelerator and the question of the fate of the existing accelerator, of course, will have to be determined in due course. If we can afford to leave it in commission for a long period of time, that will obviously benefit patients in our hospital. When a new accelerator is installed it takes some time to become operational and to get to full capacity. I cannot say how long the present accelerator will be there after the new one is installed because obviously that depends very much on how well it is able to survive. It is obviously subject to some ageing. However, I am confident that the creation of that additional resource in Royal Canberra Hospital South will be a tremendous improvement for those people who are suffering from cancer and will significantly improve our capacity to deal with those cases quickly and have those people treated promptly when they require it.
MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. Mr Humphries himself alluded to some of the problems associated with regular maintenance and breakdown of this kind of equipment, which is, after all, very sensitive. I ask Mr Humphries whether he will give a commitment that he will retain the current radiotherapy unit after the commissioning of the new unit.
MR HUMPHRIES: I think I have just answered that question. I have said that I cannot give a commitment; that I have to see what the cost of maintaining two machines in the hospital would be and how long it would take before the other machine was fully operational. However, if we have an existing machine there and it has the capacity to continue to deliver services because it is operational enough to be useful, obviously it would be nice to leave it there and provide those services. But a lot depends on the cost of doing that and the needs elsewhere in the system, and I will consider that when the new machine becomes available.
Food and Wine Frolic
MRS NOLAN: My question is directed to the Attorney-General. Can the Attorney advise how many members of the Australian Federal Police were deployed to the Food and Wine Frolic over the weekend, and how many arrests were made?
MR COLLAERY: I thank Mrs Nolan for the question. I have been advised by the chief police officer that from 7.00 am until 10.00 pm on 17 March 106 members of the Australian Federal Police, ACT Region, were involved in policing the
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