Page 3810 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 October 1991
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The Minister says that that cannot be done by 12 December. Mr Enfield carried out a very comprehensive inquiry into the financial problems of the hospital system, and he did not have all year to do it. He did it in a very short period of time, and he came up with some very sound conclusions and recommendations. We were putting those recommendations into effect, and I accept that this Government has picked them up and pursued them. That is why it is spending $385,000 on upgrading Fiscal. We found out what the problem was and we took steps to rectify it, and the flow-on of that into this year is the need to upgrade Fiscal, with a $385,000 tag. This Government would not have dared to set that aside and say, "We are not going to upgrade the Fiscal management system". It had to pick that up. It was one of the things that it could not shirk and had to face up to.
I have had enough of the ducking and weaving of the Minister, who tries to avoid every question, who will not give us the answers to any questions, and who produces rubbery figures - and the ones he gives us today will be different from the ones he gave us yesterday and the ones he will give us tomorrow. Mr Humphries is absolutely right. We need to know, and the community needs to know, the end result of this deliberate decision, not by the hospital board but by the Government, to reduce the number of beds in our public hospital system. The only way to do that is to have an independent inquiry, and I support Mr Humphries' motion that such a committee be convened.
DR KINLOCH (12.28): There is a strong benefit to the community in making effective use of our committee system - - -
Motion (by Mr Stefaniak) put:
That the question be now put.
The Assembly voted -
AYES, 9 NOES, 7
Mr Collaery Mr Berry
Mr Duby Mr Connolly
Mr Humphries Ms Follett
Mr Jensen Mrs Grassby
Mr Kaine Mr Moore
Dr Kinloch Mrs Nolan
Ms Maher Mr Wood
Mr Prowse
Mr Stefaniak
Question so resolved in the affirmative.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Members, it being past 12.30 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 77, as amended by temporary orders.
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