Page 391 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 1993
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Mr Stevenson and some of the Liberals raised the issue of the time we have had to consider this matter. This is not new. This happened in December and there was wideranging comment about the circumstances which gave rise to the resignation of board members. There was plenty of opportunity for people to discuss it, debate it, raise questions, do what they liked about it. But I have to say that the heat of the debate was quite low; in fact, it was almost non-existent.
As far as public consultation is concerned, I am quite certain from my contacts with members of the community that what they want is stability in the management of our health system. That is why it is very important from the Government's point of view to ensure that we move from one era to another as smoothly as possible. We can have all the political point taking we like, but at the end of the day the most important aspect of this whole debate is to ensure that the public health system in the ACT survives unscathed. Whilst there are some scars and ebbs and flows in confidence in management because of the disruption caused by the demise of the board, I am sure that we will survive it because amongst all of those people working in the health system there is an overwhelming majority who will ensure that the health system survives and that it survives with bells on. It will survive as a good system because it is destined to become a good system and an efficient system.
Ms Szuty raised the issue of the independent complaints unit and I should bring her up to date on that issue. Already there has been an officer appointed to head up that unit and we are in the process of developing the legislation; so it is a promise that will be delivered. Madam Speaker, one other matter that Mr Moore raised was the issue of clause 6 of the Health Bill. That is not a particularly unusual provision; in fact it largely reflects similar provisions which are incorporated in the Federal Act, the Medicare Agreements Act 1992, though it is in different language. Amongst other things the Federal Act says:
In this section, 'adopt' means to enact legislation that establishes the Principles and Commitments as guidelines that will govern the delivery of public hospital services to eligible persons in a State, but neither the obligation to enact that legislation, nor the State legislation so enacted, operates to create in any person legal rights not in existence -
and so on. So it largely mirrors those provisions; but, whilst it enshrines in legislation the commitments of this Labor Government to those objectives and the Medicare principles and commitments in accordance with our Medicare agreement, it also sends a strong message to the community that any government that picks up the responsibility for the administration of this legislation has to deliver. However difficult that may be, those will always be the guidelines upon which the public can judge politicians in this place. I am quite proud to have been able to incorporate those particular clauses, clauses 4 and 5, in the legislation because they do say what should be said about health legislation.
May I also say, Madam Speaker, that there is one other important part of the legislation which may have passed unnoticed, and it is the absence of any secrecy provisions. Members who were here some time ago may recall a long debate about secrecy provisions in the earlier Act and those who supported the principles of the Labor Party then will, I am sure, welcome the absence of those very provisions from this piece of legislation.
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