Page 4019 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 23 November 1993
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Mr De Domenico: That sort of language does not help.
MR BERRY: The truth has to be said. The heat has to be put on these people.
Mr De Domenico: You are the Minister. You fix it.
MR BERRY: The only way that Mrs Carnell can see for me to fix it is to give them the money. It is only a matter of how much it costs. "Just give them the money", says Mrs Carnell.
Mrs Carnell: I said that I would fix it for you. Just give me a go.
MR BERRY: I have never seen you fix anything, Mrs Carnell.
Mr Humphries: Make Kate the Health Minister for a couple of days. She will fix it.
MR BERRY: Yes, she will give them the money because it is not hers.
Mr Humphries: She will fix it.
MR BERRY: Do not worry about it. You will not have the opportunity. The dispute is going to the right place, the Industrial Relations Commission, on Thursday. If the doctors are committed to an outcome, if they have good faith, they should involve themselves in those proceedings.
Mrs Carnell: Why should they?
MR BERRY: "Why should they?", she says. Because they might get a fair result, says I. But they do not want a fair result.
Ms Follett: They signed an undertaking to do just that.
Mrs Carnell: We will talk about that tomorrow.
MR BERRY: You can talk about it as much as you like, because they did sign an undertaking that they would do just that. If Opposition members want to interject they can get a burst or two out of it. We are talking about people who are overimpressed with their own power. They are not used to conforming to the usual community norms, but they are going to have to learn to.
As I mentioned, the responses to questions were timely, and I believe that this has assisted the committee in its examination of the Department of Health in terms of not only its budget and financial management but also the services it provides to the ACT community. My department will, of course, continue to work towards further reasonable improvements in both of those aspects.
I am also pleased that the committee took a long time to discuss health service delivery issues within ACT Health and acknowledge that improvements have been made in many areas. For example, in the discussion on the Alcohol and Drug Service the committee was satisfied with the improvements in services available to the ACT community. The methadone program has successfully increased its accessibility, with client numbers increasing from 120 to 300 in 1992-93; and there is no waiting list for high priority cases. Mr Moore would remember 1989, when that was a very serious issue; and it remained so until 1991,
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