Page 4550 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 20 November 1991
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correspondence to my attention, I would be very happy to chase that up. It is certainly not my intention that any of our ACT citizens should be offended by a piece of communication from the Government or from the Government Service.
Health Budget - Monthly Reports
MR COLLAERY: My question is to Mr Berry in his role as Minister for Health. Considering that his role as Minister is to protect the government revenue, and that is a statutory ministerial role, will he assure the house, firstly, that he has instructed the Board of Health to provide him with the requisite monthly or other periodical summations of the state of the finances administered by that board; and, secondly, when did he last see such a document?
MR BERRY: I thank Mr Collaery for the question because it gives me a great opportunity to mention that Mr Collaery was corporately responsible for the decline in the health system during the period of the Alliance Government.
Mr Jensen: Here we go again.
MR BERRY: They might laugh, but the serious attacks that were made on our hospital system as a result of the Alliance Government are no joking matter. There is no question about that. Nobody denies it. I am glad to see that.
I have asked for regular updates on how the board is managing the budget and I intend to ensure that the board is given every opportunity to live up to its undertaking to me to manage within budget. The budget was set in circumstances which followed a disaster in our hospital system - the disaster being that period of the Alliance Government - and the board was, of course, set up by the Alliance Government. It is an Alliance board; but I have indicated to the chairman of that board, Mr Service, that the board has my full support, that we will be working with the board to ensure that the performance of our hospitals and health system generally improves and that over time there is a recovery from the damage to the hospital system which occurred during the time of the Alliance Government.
Unquestionably, the job that the board has in front of it is a difficult one. It will need all of the support that the Government can give it if it is to succeed. As I have said, I will continue to get regular updates on the performance of the board. It is an issue of interest to the Government and something that we will be following closely. It is something that the former Government did not do and that is why we ended up with the $17m budget blow-out. I am not going to foster political interference in the management of the hospital and health system - - -
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