Page 2609 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 1991
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Convalescent Facility
MR HUMPHRIES: My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the Minister give the Assembly an unequivocal assurance that he will proceed with the Alliance Government's plans for a slow-stream convalescent facility on the Acton Peninsula, as recommended in the Kearney report?
MR BERRY: That gives me an opportunity to give an unequivocal assurance to the people of the ACT that we will not be bustled by Mr Humphries. We had a year-and-a-half of the Alliance Government and we saw the confidence in our public hospital system undermined because of the mismanagement, firstly, of the recurrent budget in our hospital system, with very serious blowouts in recurrent funding. We also had a redevelopment plan which did not have the confidence of the entire community. It did not have the confidence of the workers in the hospital system, nor did it have the confidence of people who might use the public hospital system.
The unequivocal commitment I will give to this Assembly and to Mr Humphries is that we will not be giving an answer on the hospital system until we are ready, and that will be next week. I will give another unequivocal commitment to this Assembly and to Mr Humphries: It will be better when we are finished with it.
Ms Follett: I ask that further questions be placed on the notice paper, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Order! I draw members' attention to House of Representatives Practice with respect to questions without notice that are similar to questions on the notice paper. It is the general practice of that House that questions without notice which are substantially the same as questions already on the notice paper are not permissible. I intend to follow that practice. I ask you all to adhere to that ruling.
Medicare Bulk Billing
MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to respond to a question which was asked of me yesterday by Mr Humphries and which I said I would answer as soon as possible.
Leave granted.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries asked me a question about the effect of the introduction of the proposed $3.50 Medicare fee in relation to ACT residents. My understanding of it, having had a look at the newspaper, is that it is an alleged leak about what might happen. You say that it is going to happen?
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