Page 3874 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 October 1991
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because none of his questions have been very challenging; nor have they uncovered anything that would cause anybody concern about the way the Board of Health is managing the health system. If they had, I am sure Mr Humphries would have made a meal out of it. Although he threatened to make a meal out of it, he failed again, as he failed in his ministry. The failed Health Minister sits beside the failed Treasurer. What a double! Neither knew what was going on in the hospital system in relation to budgets, and Mr Humphries has now been shown not to be able to count.
Mr Connolly: Mr Kaine did that.
MR BERRY: Yes, Mr Kaine can count; we know that. The issue that is of concern to me - I have said it before and, at the risk of boredom for some members, I will say it again - is that this is a stunt. It is really a matter of raking over coals that have been raked over in the Estimates Committee. It is surprising that Mr Moore supports it, although he had the opportunity to raise it in the Estimates Committee. He will be attempting to question the same senior bureaucrats on the very same subjects, raking over the same old coals to discover what is going on in the hospital system. He will discover what is going on in the hospital system, as he has done in the Estimates Committee.
Mr Kaine: They might get better answers when they have not got you up front.
MR BERRY: I can assure you that you will get the same answers. In health, we are all dancing to the same tune. It is not as it was when Mr Humphries was in power. There are issues that require a coordinated approach, and it is only Labor that can provide that.
It is silly for Mr Humphries to pursue this motion; it is silly for other members to pursue it. It shows how hollow their objectives are, when we look at what happened in question time today. Not one of them was interested enough to ask me a question about hospital bed numbers - because there is nothing of worth to report on the matter off which they could feed.
They will go through this committee procedure, whoever ends up being the chairperson. I wonder whether that has been decided. Hector seems to have decided that he is going to be on the committee. There are going to be only three, it seems. I expect that Mr Humphries will be on it; I know that Mrs Nolan does not want to be on it; and it has been suggested that Mrs Grassby might be on it as well. Mrs Grassby does not need the workload, but if this silly motion survives Labor will support Mrs Grassby being on the committee to ensure that the Labor Party is represented. Mrs Grassby will make a positive contribution to that committee - something that I am sure the other members on it have not been able to achieve through their involvement in the Estimates Committee.
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