Page 4051 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 24 November 1993
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arbitration as an outcome for settling this dispute. They have consistently said, "No, we cannot win". They are not worried about being fair; they are worried about winning. That is the essence of the debate. So we have doctors who refuse to go to arbitration.
Mrs Carnell read from a document which describes the arbitration process. What she did not say - she always forgets to speak all of the truth - was that this relies on the parties agreeing to appoint an arbitrator. There was no chance of that ever happening because the AMA would never agree to it.
Mr De Domenico: How many meetings have you attended with the AMA?
MR BERRY: One more than Mr Humphries. When Mr Humphries was Minister and the negotiations with the VMOs were on, he did not have any meetings; he just gave it the tick. There were no negotiations, and he locked us into this disgraceful position where the AMA is able to bleed the system dry. That is what Mr Humphries did. Ask him what he did with the ophthalmologists when they went on strike. We saw an ophthalmologist bleating in the newspaper this morning. What did Gary Humphries do about the ophthalmologists?
Mr Humphries: I settled the dispute.
MR BERRY: That is right; you gave in to them. You gave them the extra $200 per procedure. They went on strike. There were AIDS people around this town who needed implants, and the ophthalmologists would not do it if they were public patients. They kept it up and they kept it up. Who folded? Gary Humphries. He gave them the $200; he bent. You cannot give in forever if you have the gun at your head.
The ACT Government is presently in dispute with the strongest and most belligerent of all unions. The difference between this union and those we are most accustomed to dealing with is that it represents some of the most privileged in our society, is not subject to the normal industrial process, and is accustomed to setting its own pay rates and conditions. This, of course, is the Australian Medical Association.
All of you would have seen in the Estimates Committee process the rates of pay which were set out in Health's annual report. It showed some of the very high rates we pay from our hospital system, up around a quarter of a million dollars. We know that, on average, obstetricians can earn up to $400,000, so we are looking at salary rates of at least $650,000 in some cases, and more when you take into account private practice and other things. These people want to continue that position forever. They believe that they are entitled to it.
I see in the background one of our businessmen, who obviously is aware of the position when you make contracts. You make the contract and it stands on its merits. These doctors do not operate that way. They operate together, they bargain together, and they milk as much as they can. You cannot do that, Mr Westende.
Mr Westende: My employees do. I have just been through enterprise bargaining with them.
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