Page 3125 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 10 September 1991
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construction project undertaken by and for the ACT as a community, rather than the ACT as a national capital, which we have ever seen. In that respect the extent to which it has proceeded relatively smoothly since its inception is a great tribute to the many people who have made that possible and, in particular, to those who have been involved in the management of the hospital redevelopment process, and I applaud them. I think, Mr Speaker, it is worth reminding people that, despite the blizzard of criticism and countercriticism which inevitably occurs in a process like this, this is basically an extremely positive process for the upgrading and improvement of our health services in this Territory. To quote from page 2 of the report:
Adoption of the one principal hospital concept and the general streamlining and upgrading of Canberra's public hospital system promises significant improvement in the quality and effectiveness of health services in the Territory.
Let us not forget that. Let us not forget that that is what this process has been about. That is what this process must be about to justify the cost of about $166m in 1990 dollars. That is what we have to be aiming at in order to make all the pain and the trauma associated with this worthwhile, and it is worthwhile if we achieve that.
That is what the Alliance Government firmly believed. I am sure it is what the first Follett Government firmly believed when it adopted the idea of a principal hospital in the Woden Valley. Not only has it the chance to improve the general quality of health care in the ACT by consolidating services on a single central site, but it possesses a number of very exciting features in their own right, representing for the most part innovations, quite substantial innovations, in health care in this Territory.
I am referring particularly here to the establishment of a birthing centre and a hospice, to the creation of a 24-hour mental health crisis service, and to the relocation to more appropriate sites of some other services in the Territory, notably the Jindalee Nursing Home and the QEII Home for mothers and babies. That is very important, Mr Speaker. It would be unfortunate for the Territory if that process did not have the chance to produce those enormous benefits to the Territory.
It is also worth noting that during this period the ACT attended its first meeting of the Australian Health Ministers Conference. That was in June 1990 in Brisbane. I was privileged to represent the ACT for the very first time at ministerial level at that meeting. It cannot be underestimated how important the process is whereby the ACT takes its place in the range of communities in this country and talks about the issues of health and health provision at the highest possible level. That was an important occasion, I think, for this Territory.
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