Page 1834 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 19 August 1992
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MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, colleagues opposite can belittle that and can make light of it, and I can understand their embarrassment on the topic, given their stated agenda, which is, of course, to rip the heart out of the ACT through their Fightback package. They are forced to defend that; it must be an extremely uncomfortable experience for them, because it is indefensible to any ACT representative.
Health Complaints Unit
MR LAMONT: My question is directed to the Deputy Chief Minister in his capacity as Minister for Health. Last evening the Federal Government announced, as part of its budget strategy, plans to enshrine patient rights in legislation. Given your comments in this house yesterday, could you please elaborate on how the ACT Government will continue its commitment to establish an independent health complaints unit?
Mr Kaine: This is the ministerial statement for today, is it?
MR BERRY: No, the ministerial statement comes later, Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Kaine: But that is about something inconsequential.
MR BERRY: The wailing and weeping over here is, of course, not unexpected, because they have just seen an election winning budget announced and, of course, we have seen some positive outcomes for the ACT. Of course, the Liberals do not want to see that; they just want to see the negative side. They want to see the ACT and the rest of Australia done over in their own political interests. All they are interested in is getting their bottoms on the seats; they have no interest at all in anything else.
Madam Speaker, I was delighted to see that the Federal Government is moving to enshrine the principles of Medicare in legislation. As part of that legislation, the Federal Government has also endorsed a Medicare hospital patients charter. Of course, patients are the ones that the Labor Party has always been concerned about; it is not something that the Liberals have been too concerned about. All they want to do is force people into expensive private hospital insurance - - -
Mr Humphries: It is you who have cut beds; it is you who have created the waiting lists in the hospitals.
MR BERRY: All you want to do is force people into expensive private hospital insurance, at a cost of up to $46 a week for ordinary families. That is the sort of thing that you want to do. Indeed, you want to force people into that area when they cannot afford it. The Federal Labor Government, of course, has made a positive move in relation to the delivery of health services in Australia. A very positive aspect of their moves has been the increase in the Medicare levy - a good thing.
Mr Cornwell: Which the left wing do not like at all.
MR BERRY: I say to you that the Labor Party supports the increase in the Medicare levy. It is a good thing.
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