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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 10 Hansard (5 December) . . Page.. 2634 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

She held this place in contempt and went on with her decision to provide redundancy packages to those doctors and forced them out of the system. She held the motion of this Assembly in contempt. There were never motions passed in the past of that order in relation to any minority government that has been here. Mrs Carnell now has been exposed for her contempt of the Assembly, and members ought to keep that in the back of their minds while they debate this issue.

Mr Speaker, I would now like to deal with Mrs Carnell's opposition to the provision of ancillary health services at government-owned health centres. The Government says, loud and long, "We will not close them. What we will do is empty them out and sell them so that somebody else can close them". That is what that language means. Mrs Carnell went on a moment ago and said that we should not have inappropriate services at these health centres; that it is better to be flexible and have appropriate services located near old people and so on and so forth. Well, quite near the Kippax Health Centre you will find a residence for old people. Several hundred old people live at the Kalparrin nursing home and retirement village, and look at the list of people that Mrs Carnell is removing from the Kippax Health Centre.

This tells you all you need to know about the Liberals' approach to health. The stoma incontinence adviser has been moved out to another facility. The oncology nurse specialist has been moved away from the aged persons' place and relocated to another facility. Also, there is a new suburb developing at Dunlop, in the west of Belconnen.

Mr Whitecross: Are they the people who were promised a high school?

MR BERRY: They were the ones who were promised the high school as well.

Mr Whitecross: Is that the one that Mr Stefaniak closed?

MR BERRY: No, that is the one that Mr Stefaniak strangled to death. They are the people who are missing out.

Mr Whitecross: Where was Mr Hird when this was happening?

MR BERRY: Well, he was not drinking orange juice. The maternal and child health team is going to be relocated. So the list goes on, as Mrs Carnell would say. The physiotherapist - relocation at Belconnen Health Centre, right away from the aged people nearby. The sessional child health medical officer - relocation at Belconnen Health Centre. That involves a round trip costing about $14 or $16. Sessional paediatric nutrition clinic - relocation at Belconnen Health Centre. This is basically about gutting the health centre, selling it, and letting somebody else close the thing. So who misses out? The old people and the young families who need these sorts of services in that area. So, it is no wonder Mrs Carnell is moving to try to knock off paragraph 4 of the motion which has been moved by my colleague Mr Connolly. It argues that those ancillary services at government-owned health centres be retained and be at least equal to that which existed when the Liberals took office.

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