Page 38 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 7 April 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Mr Humphries: You said in your budget that there would be a decline of 4 per cent.
Mr Kaine: That is the answer you have ready, but it is not the answer to the question that was asked.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Let Mr Berry answer the question.
MR BERRY: These people do not like the answer that they are getting. They are seeing more productivity in health than had occurred in the past, and it is within budget - something they could never ever do - so, no wonder they are twitchy.
MRS CARNELL: I ask a supplementary question. It is really not a supplementary question; it is the same question again, but the end part of it.
MADAM SPEAKER: That is out of order.
MRS CARNELL: I am going to ask it again, but in a different question. Could the Minister please state whether the projected 4 per cent decline in activity levels will be reached and what impact that is going to have on the projected need for hospital beds in our system?
MR BERRY: People do not seem to understand what is going on in health. I just told you that the activity levels have gone up, and that trend is likely to continue. We are able to achieve that increased productivity not only within budget - I know that they are sensitive about that, and they ought to be - but also within the hospital bed management plan which has been announced by the Board of Health. All of these achievements, Madam Speaker, were never gained under the conservative government of people opposite. So, we are doing well. I am sorry that you are unhappy about that, but you will get used to it.
Mrs Carnell: So, more patients and no more beds?
MR BERRY: That is a more efficient hospital system.
Abortion
MR HUMPHRIES: My question is to the Minister for Health. I refer the Minister to letters written to him on 18 December last year and on 11 March this year from the ACT Right to Life Association inquiring as to his Government's position with respect to abortion. Is it the case that neither of those letters has been responded to as yet? Does he treat this particular organisation or these particular people in a different way from his other constituents, or is this the policy the Government is going to pursue with respect to all people inquiring about this important issue in the future?
MR BERRY: I do not recall with any accuracy the letters to which you refer, because I receive many letters in my office - complimentary ones as well, it might surprise you to know. The letters will be answered. Is that the question?
Mr Humphries: When? It is four months.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .