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(Extension of time granted) . . Page.. 1198 ..

all things being equal. On the record, that is the case. We will not rule out the for-profit sector; but, all things being equal, the non-profit sector will be the people who get the tender. The reason for that is that we are always very keen to see money put back into community facilities and so on. If you have a choice you will always take that approach.

Mr Connolly's comments up to date about nursing home care are simply untrue. Unfortunately, even though inroads have been made over the last few years at Jindalee Nursing Home, it is still costing the ACT Government some $600,000 a year. That is at a time when the Commonwealth is supposed to be covering funding for nursing homes in the ACT and, for that matter, in the rest of Australia, totally; but we are subsidising it out of the budget that is given to us from the Federal Government and by taxpayers in the ACT to run other services such as hospitals, community nursing and so on. We are not funded by the Commonwealth to run nursing homes. They fund nursing homes.

That brings me to community medical practitioners. Community medical practitioners were brought into the ACT at the Melba Health Centre prior to Medicare. They were a particularly good - - -

Mr Berry: By a Labor government.

MRS CARNELL: By a Labor government; you are absolutely right. Before Medicare community medical centres were an extremely good idea for people who were financially disadvantaged. There was no universal health cover. So there was a capacity for those people, those families, to go to salaried doctors and get good medical care. But then a Labor government also brought in Medicare, and Medicare funds GPs in our community. The Commonwealth does not fund us to pay for general practitioner services in the ACT. In fact, the ACT is the only State or Territory that currently has salaried medical practitioners. We certainly claim on Medicare, but what happens?

Mr Berry: That is just a small thing.

MRS CARNELL: Actually, it is a small thing because it covers 60 per cent of our costs.

Mr De Domenico: Sit back and listen.

Mr Hird: You might learn something.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister can manage. I ask Government members to be quiet.

MRS CARNELL: It does not pay any rent, any on-costs. It covers 60 per cent of what it costs us to employ CMPs. It does not pay the doctors’ costs. The costs include rent. They include receptionist costs. They include all of those costs. Unfortunately, somebody has to pay. (Extension of time granted) They do not cover the costs of employing CMPs. I wonder why those opposite think we are the only State or Territory

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