Page 4995 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 26 November 1991
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MR MOORE (11.47): Mr Speaker, it is interesting to hear the interjections between the ex-Minister and the Minister. The reality with hospital services is that the Royal Canberra Hospital is the corpse and both of them have blood on their hands, in metaphorical terms. The reality is that the Royal Canberra Hospital would still be here had it not been for the Alliance Government's fast-tracking approach and had the Minister for Health not been able to continue with the support, of course, of the Residents Rally. When the Labor Government came to power it was quite clear that the costs of retaining a hospital on the Acton Peninsula were the same as the costs when Rosemary Follett tabled her Bill to retain the Royal Canberra Hospital.
Mr Berry: You do not understand.
MR MOORE: There is an interjection from Mr Berry, "You do not understand". I think there is some truth in what Mr Berry says because it is something that I find very difficult to understand. I have read and reread the report that he commissioned, and the reality is that they could have retained a hospital on the Royal Canberra site. He is quite right; I do not understand how Labor could have sold out to the extent that they did on this particular issue, and it is something that they will have to answer for to the electorate.
Mr Speaker, the hospital redevelopment program has been carried on at such a rate that we see constant reports and we hear constant reports of problems. The problems that we hear about are just the tip of the iceberg. That is the important thing. What you read in the media is not just isolated examples of people being inconvenienced, put out and having their health put at risk; there is a constant stream of them. At almost any gathering, if somebody mentions the Royal Canberra Hospital somebody else has examples and anecdotes. If you dig just a little bit deeper, it is not that hard to find the names and the specific examples. It is a disaster area, Mr Speaker. The major part of the fault lies with the previous Minister for Health, but the fault has continued under the Labor Government.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health and Minister for Sport) (11.50): Mr Speaker, I get a little upset at the suggestions that Michael Moore has made in relation to Labor's policy. Labor's policy is pretty clear; it has always been clear and unequivocal.
Mr Humphries: Yes, save Royal Canberra Hospital.
MR BERRY: We have always been clear and unequivocal, Mr Humphries. We said at the 1989 election that we would maintain a public health facility on the Acton site. We have stuck to that policy; we have stuck to that policy through thick and thin.
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