Page 416 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 May 1992
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MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (3.44), in reply: One of the things that have become so typical of Liberals is the way they feast on the emotions of the community with quite inaccurate information. One of the things I have always prided myself on is giving an accurate assessment of what is going on. Gary Humphries raised the issue of my silence in the lead-up to his budget blow-out. There is no point in beating up a storm if you do not have the information.
Mr Humphries: You should have asked the question.
MR BERRY: I did ask the question and the Minister did not know. I said, "Minister, what is going on in your health system? Have you problems with your budget?". He said, "I do not really know". I said, "Well, how about devoting some resources to it?". He said, "I am not going to spend any money on finding out what is wrong. Heavens, I would not want to know if there is anything wrong". Mr Kaine did not know what was going on.
Let us get to the bottom of this. The real issue about health finance is that it was out of control. There is no question about it: The overrun or the blow-out, or whatever you want to call it, which occurred under Labor in 1989 was a matter of concern, but it ought to have been fixed by the time it became a political issue for the Alliance Government.
Mr Humphries: You did not ask what we had done about it, did you? What did you ask about it?
MR BERRY: You have had your chance. The Alliance Government clearly was not in control. The situation has now turned around. Labor is in control. There is no unapproved spending, such as occurred under the Alliance Government. There is open access to information in relation to finances, which has never been the case in the past. The Liberals, typically, are trying to tip a bucket on anybody who is doing well.
Listen to some of the statements, and these come, I suspect, from Mrs Carnell: "The Government was trying to disguise a substantial blow-out". What a stupid statement! Every detail of the figures was provided. "The agreed supplementation column, which was new to the reports format, appeared to be a ploy to make the budget look like it balanced". What a silly statement! "Kate Carnell criticises the secrecy and lack of information available on a regular basis from the Minister". No other Liberal health spokesperson has got more information on a month by month basis about health finances across Australia, I suspect.
Mr Humphries: We need it more here than they do anywhere else.
MR BERRY: Of course you need some more. I need some more to clean up the mess you left. Do you remember the possums? It goes on: "The areas in which Gary's budget blew out are the same areas which Mr Berry calls supplementation". That is completely wrong. There was $6m unauthorised, unapproved expenditure. It is 11 by six. The Canberra Times said that there was a $17m blow-out. There was $6m of unapproved expenditure. Squirm all you like; those are just a few facts.
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