Page 1655 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 30 April 1991
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The facts are very clear from the Enfield report. The claims made by the Opposition cannot be substantiated and I think they ought to be thinking very carefully before they push this line any more in the community. I suggest that most people do not believe them now, as it is.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the claim made by the Opposition has changed. It was, originally, that the Government did not act on the Treasury report; now it has become, "You did act, but you did not act enough on the report or you did not follow it through". I indicated in detail at the end of question time what the Government did in response to that report.
Mr Berry: I do not believe you.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry says that he does not believe me. That is fine. He is obviously saying that I am telling an untruth. I will not take the point of order. The fact is, Mr Deputy Speaker, that those opposite are changing their tune. When they saw the facts they suddenly realised that they could not sustain the same argument, and I am not surprised.
The other issue that does arise here is a very important one. These people opposite are now all in a fuss, all in a lather, about the fact that there was a Treasury report which was not followed through. Ms Follett had the interim Treasury report. What action did she take to ask this Government where it stood with the Treasury report, to follow through the issues that had been raised in that Treasury report? I cannot recall ever having been asked a question about that subject - not once. Where is the great burning issue? Where is the great burning follow-through?
Clearly, Mr Deputy Speaker, those opposite believed, as this Government believed, that there had been a substantial attempt to address this issue through the response the Government announced after the Treasury report of December 1989. They believed it as much as this Government believed it. They believed it to the same extent; so they cannot now come to this place saying, "Oh, we knew that there was a problem. Why didn't you act on it?". The question has to be asked, "Where were you for the last 12 months if there was a crisis going on?".
Mr Berry made a claim in the course of the debate which almost had me rushing for a bucket. He said, "The board made a plea for help". "The board made a plea for help", he said, putting his hand over his heart, "The board wanted help and you left them on one side. You ignored them". Mr Deputy Speaker, where was Mr Berry when the same board made a similar plea for help during 1989 when he was Minister; when they said, "We need help to give us a stronger legislative base to deal with the hospital budget problems"?
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