Page 3730 - Week 12 - Thursday, 21 October 1993
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If you look at the situation in, say, Victoria, where they have some old institutions, they have a particular problem to address. We do not have the problem of old institutions, which I am pleased about. We are able to start without having to worry about those problems. As to what we are going to do, we are going to look very closely at what Burdekin says, particularly as it relates to the Territory, and where there are particular criticisms that are relevant we will identify them and deal with them.
MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Mr Burdekin on ABC radio yesterday said that if he achieves nothing more than to get governments to provide extra money through their budgets in this area he will have achieved a great deal by his report. Do you perceive that this is going to require extra funding in the next ACT budget, Minister?
MR BERRY: That is probably out of order. It is a bit speculative. I was just looking at the number of beds, in response to a question that was raised by Mr Cornwell yesterday.
Mr Moore: On a point of order, Madam Speaker: I asked a question about budgets. If you wish to rule my question out of order or if the Minister does not want to answer, that is fine; but beds yesterday we have already dealt with.
MR BERRY: No, it is in relation to the question you asked. The number of beds available in the ACT for psychiatric patients is 17 beds per 100,000 population, or around that of New South Wales, where it is 15 beds per 100,000 population. On that side, it seems on the face of it at least that we are doing all right. In relation to future funding, of course we will be looking at the provision of extra services in the future, but that will be for other budgets. We have looked at it in the context of past budgets and we have produced the goods.
ACTEW - Statutory Basis of Employment
MR WESTENDE: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services. I refer to the Minister's glowing praise yesterday for the statutory authority structure of ACTEW and to the report in today's Canberra Times that ACTEW may be absorbed into the public service. I ask the Minister: If the present mode of operation has produced, to use his words, the best performing electricity distributor in the country, why change it?
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, people are getting very agitated over this issue, and I think unnecessarily so. As members would be aware, we are grasping towards the creation of a separate ACT public service, and that involves pulling together the many different statutory bases of employment in the ACT. Within my portfolios alone there are about eight or 10 separate statutory bases of employment. I am not sure of the number across the whole of the Territory, but I would not be surprised if it was in the order of 20 or so. That is clearly an inefficient structure and the general goals - - -
Mr Kaine: Why is that, of itself, inefficient?
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