Page 2745 - Week 09 - Thursday, 26 August 1993
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hospital, "I am very sorry, but you cannot come in because we have just run out of money; that is our budget, and that is it". We all know what happens in America. You can lie in the street and die before they will let you into a hospital, unless you have private insurance. We also know that the cost of private insurance in America can be absolutely horrific.
I found it very difficult on this committee to look at Health in the way I would look at other departments, although I think Health has to be accountable for what it spends. I do not think we can just say to Health, "Here is the money, go and spend it; and, when you have spent it all and you cannot manage the budget, just come back and we will give you more". To a certain extent, it has to be accountable, and under the present Minister I think this has happened. The present Minister has done a lot to make Health a lot more accountable.
My first profession was as a trained nurse, and I know that health care is not something where you can put your finger on every single penny. It is terribly difficult to do this. I hear the Minister talking about doing something about the VMOs. When you look at the cost of that and see one of the statements that a doctor was paid $500 to get somebody into hospital, you start to wonder what does go on. The Public Accounts Committee, thank goodness, is able to find this out. The most wonderful part about being on the Public Accounts Committee is that departments are accountable and we get the chance to question people and find out exactly what is happening.
I hark back to the fact that self-government has been here for only four years. We all know that for many years when departments could not balance the budget they just went up the hill and asked for more money and they got it. We all know very well why the Federal Government was happy to give us self-government. They had made the decision that the days of the wonderful buckets of money were over and that the ACT people were going to have to live within their means, they were going to have to cut their cloth according to their means.
It is very hard, if you have been doing something for years and years, to pull people into line and tell them that they cannot do it any more. I am pleased that people are now coming around to it. Most departments are now realising that that is all the money we have and that is the only way you can cut the cake. You can cut it only certain ways and you are not going to get much more. You may be able to steal a little from this department to pay that department, but we all know that that is stealing from Peter to pay Paul. Even though you go around the cake and steal from Peter to pay Paul, you still have only the same cake and it still cuts only one way.
There are many things where the Public Accounts Committee did not quite get the answers we would have liked, and I think that a lot of those answers will come out in the Estimates Committee hearings. Mr Kaine is sitting over there with a big smile on his face; he is going to have lots of questions to ask in the Estimates Committee. As he said on the Public Accounts Committee, if we cannot find out now we will find out in the Estimates Committee. I am quite sure that he will. I would not like to be Minister for Health, and I think Mr Berry has done a wonderful job - - -
Mr De Domenico: Can you say that again?
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