Page 1424 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 17 April 1991
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embarrassment for the Minister. I understand why he is embarrassed, because the hospital service is in crisis. I would be running scared, too, if I were in a position such as this Minister is because of the mismanagement which has occurred in his portfolio. He has been found out on a number of occasions as a result of the campaigns run by the Labor Party, and I can understand why the Minister wants to prevent open debate on the issues. But we are going to keep persisting with it. We will continue to openly debate it and we will continue to take this Minister to task as we are doing with this motion today.
Mr Speaker, this Minister, nervous though he is about his performance - and so he ought to be - has been responsible for a massive decline in services and a massive blow-out of the budget. I say that his management of the laws which relate to our health system is also in doubt, and that is why this motion has been moved today. What we want to know from this Minister is whether or not there will be some change in the future. It seems to me that we have come to the issue of whether Mr Bissett has been relieved of his responsibility or he has not. Mr Service announced that the interim financial controller of the ACT Board of Health would be a Mr Hirth. We are not quite sure what Mr Hirth is going to be paid out of the health budget to do, but we will get to the bottom of that another day. This has added to the confusion and, I suspect, the costs as well.
The pronouncements by the Minister and the chair of the Board of Health are unequivocal. Financial control of the Board of Health is not in the hands of the Chief Executive. Those are the announcements. But what we have to deal with today is the facts. Announcements from this Minister and the facts quite often cannot be rationalised. We have to get to the bottom of this Minister's performance each and every day we come into this Assembly. This is part of that process, and we will continue to keep the pressure on the Minister, no matter how much he squeals.
The Health Services Act is also unequivocal. The Chief Executive, or Acting Chief Executive, exercises the powers of the Board of Health. That includes financial powers. On 28 March this year Mr John Bissett exercised the financial powers of the Board of Health. That is what has occurred.
Mr Humphries: No, it did not; that is not true.
MR BERRY: It was announced in the Gazette - if the Minister chooses to read that - - -
Mr Humphries: That is not a power under the Board of Health.
MR BERRY: He cannot ignore the facts. It was announced in the Gazette on 28 March 1991, and that is when those powers are implemented by virtue of its announcement in the Gazette. So, the exercise of powers is given the weight of law by announcement in the Gazette, and tell me if I am wrong.
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