Page 2787 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 August 1991
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MR BERRY: It is a serious question. Mr Moore is trying to make an issue out of something that happened a year-and-a-half ago, and is trying to ignore the fact that the former Liberal Health Minister embarked on a spending campaign aimed at preventing the reopening of the Royal Canberra Hospital. Mr Moore, like many others in the community, has to accept that the former Government has committed $97m to the closure of the old Royal Canberra Hospital.
Mr Humphries: Luckily for you.
MR BERRY: I see that there is no denial from the former Health Minister opposite - Mr Moore should note that - because $97m has been committed to make sure that that hospital closes. No responsible government can ignore that. I can say that nobody more than I, nobody more than the Labor Party in this place, wanted to keep that hospital open. That is why we promised to do it in 1989.
If we had been left alone in government, that hospital would have been well and truly open right now, and it would not have been under any threat. What occurred was that the Alliance Government moved to close it. It would be irresponsible of anybody to ignore the amount of community funds that have been poured into the closure of that hospital and the redevelopment project. It cannot be ignored and we will not ignore it.
MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Mr Berry has just stated that at that time there was an indication that $40m extra would have to be spent. According to his own feasibility study, first of all, option 4 can go ahead; and, secondly, option 4 would cost $30m. That indicates that when you made your promise to reopen the Royal Canberra Hospital it was actually a more expensive option than it is now. It is now cheaper to do it. Why will you not keep your promise?
MR BERRY: It is another one of these populist issues. People seize upon them all around the place - Dennis Stevenson, Michael Moore - - -
Mr Moore: I have never changed my stance.
MR BERRY: Not much! They never go to the real issues. There has been no turnaround by Labor. Labor's position has always been that it is committed to the retention of a health facility on the Acton site. Read it in our platform. That has always been said.
We held negotiations with the parties whilst we were in government. Mr Moore was included in those negotiations, before he changed his mind about the Residents Rally, and, of course, other members of this Assembly were involved as well. They pressured me to retain that hospital. We were
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