Page 1661 - Week 06 - Thursday, 13 August 1992
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MR BERRY: No, I will not assure the Assembly of that. I am still looking at the matter. The healthy cities program has been funded by the ACT Government for some time. I cannot recall the date, but the healthy cities program was established in the ACT as part of a pilot program set up by the Commonwealth. It involved three cities: One in the Illawarra area, Canberra and a city in South Australia. The pilot program, of course, finished and the ACT provided some funding for the healthy cities program to continue. The Health Promotion Fund, when it was established, provided funds for the healthy cities program and, of course, funded it for some time.
My understanding is that the Health Promotion Fund indicated to the healthy cities people that there was a life on the time for which the Health Promotion Fund was prepared to fund the healthy cities program. My view, on the face of it, is that the Health Promotion Fund may not be an appropriate source of funding for healthy cities. I think the healthy cities approach to issues in the community might better be related to other areas of government and therefore they might be able to make an approach to government in other areas; but at this moment no final decision has been made. I have always been, if you like, fairly friendly towards the aims of healthy cities; but, at the same time, a lot of people are competing for funds in areas like the Health Promotion Fund.
The Health Promotion Advisory Committee have, at this stage, declined funding to healthy cities. I have probably received as many letters as anybody else in relation to the matter. I have had some discussions with the healthy cities people and I intend to look at it further; but at this point I am not prepared to assure the Assembly that I will continue to fund the program from the Health Promotion Fund or say for how long the funding will continue.
MS SZUTY: Madam Speaker, the question I asked was: Will the Minister assure this Assembly that funding for healthy cities by the ACT Government will continue?
MADAM SPEAKER: Ms Szuty, you are entitled to ask only a supplementary question; I am sorry. If it is a supplementary question, you can re-ask it; otherwise, Mr Berry heard the question in the first place.
City Health Centre - Pathology Services
MRS CARNELL: My question is also to Mr Berry. Is it true that pathology services at the City Health Centre will close from tomorrow? How will this affect the many elderly patients and young mothers, many of whom do not have cars, who use the centre?
MR BERRY: If you have some information about it, you had better get it to me. I will have to take the issue on notice.
Mr Humphries: What? You do not know what is going on in your own health centre? You are the Minister for Health.
MR BERRY: If you have some information about it, I would be happy to have a look at it; but I am not aware of it right now.
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