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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2426 ..

Mr Hird: I do withdraw.

Mr Connolly: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. You gave a ruling and Mr Hird quite openly defied your ruling. I would ask you to take action.

MR SPEAKER: He has now withdrawn, Mr Connolly. I call Mr Berry.

MR BERRY: This evening we have been able to nail the Liberals' performance on the delivery of community health services. We have nailed Mr Hird because he has made no attempt, not one, to defend the community health services in his own electorate of Ginninderra.

Mr Hird: I take a point of order. I have not failed and he is misrepresenting me. Mr Berry is putting himself forward against Ms Follett for the position of leader. I think Ms Follett is doing a wonderful job.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Mr Berry, I suggest that we return to Division 50, Health and Community Care, rather than Mr Hird's attitude towards health centres, or your attitude, or whatever.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, it is most appropriate that you draw our attention to that because that is the area of the budget which has been so badly affected by this Liberal Government of which Mr Hird forms a part. Not only do we have Mr Hird, Mrs Carnell and all the other colleagues abandoning the people of Ginninderra. Last weekend Mr Stefaniak accused them all of being a lot of emotional twits, more or less. The community who attended the rally were not particularly amused by that. Mr Stefaniak demonstrated the attitude of the Liberals to the provision of community health centres out there in Ginninderra. He made it clear that the Liberal Government thought that they were a bunch of emotional twits and that they would not be given the emphasis that was required to deliver quality in those health centres.

It gets back to this basic position, Mr Speaker. The priorities of the Government are wrong in relation to this matter. Mrs Carnell went on a great deal about how empty the health centres are. Maybe she has not been out there lately and seen the list of services which are provided out in the Ginninderra electorate. Maybe she should go down to the Kippax Health Centre and try to measure the level of appreciation for those services. Maybe she ought to measure the level of opposition to the removal of those services to other places. Maybe Mr Hird should take the time to visit his electorate.

Mr Hird: Yes, and I would like to ask you what you have done in the last two years.

MR BERRY: Why did you not turn up to the rally the other day, because you could have copped a serve like Mr Stefaniak? They are your constituents.

Mr Hird: Yes, but I had other things on.

MR BERRY: He had other things on.

MR SPEAKER: Relevance.

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