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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 10 Hansard (6 December) . . Page.. 2738 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

To add to the information that Mr Connolly was speaking about this morning, suggesting that the $600,000 net saving was simply impossible - very quickly, for Mr Connolly's benefit - the labour cost involved in the community medical practitioner costings was $880,000; on-costs, $125,000; and administration and consumables, $70,000. The amount for administrative staff support for CMPs only, not for the other ancillary services that we offer, was $415,000. The running cost of Melba Health Centre was $60,000, for what ended up under their regime to be two doctors and no other services whatsoever. The total cost was $1.55m. The revenue that we got from Medicare was $970,000. It meant a net saving of $580,000. I apologise to the Assembly that it was not $600,000; it was $580,000. We now have a situation where we have a saving of $580,000. The one-off payment for redundancies for the CMPs was $445,000. The $580,000 is an annual saving. All of the support staff have been redeployed into other parts of Health. That probably answers it very well, Mr Connolly.

MR CONNOLLY: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Will the Chief Minister answer the second part of my question, which related to superannuation? I asked for the redundancy payment and the superannuation payment which is brought forward and paid out in a lump sum, as opposed to a long-term payment at the end of one's service. Will the Chief Minister advise what was the global amount of that super payout as a result of the sacking of the doctors?

MRS CARNELL: I am very happy to give the Assembly that information, but I must remind Mr Connolly that that is a liability that the ACT Government already has. It is not a new liability brought on by the redundancies. The liability exists now. Whether Mr Connolly likes it or not, things like annual leave, long service leave and superannuation are liabilities that, surprising as it may seem, certainly under my ministry for health, we regard as liabilities. Under accrual accounting, Mr Connolly, they will be taken into account. It is simply ridiculous to suggest for one moment that redundancy payments somehow inflate superannuation requirements. I am very happy to make available to this Assembly the undertakings that are already in place, regardless of whether the CMPs stayed on staff or left.

I ask that further questions be placed on the notice paper.

MR STEFANIAK: I have a reply to Mr Osborne's question yesterday in relation to the number of staff in the Department of Education and Training, the Children's, Youth and Family Services Bureau and central office. There are currently 594 officers working in central office in relation to all those departments. There is a total of 104 teachers; including 19 level one teachers; 71 level 2; one level 3; eight level 4; and five level 5. The department also does have a public affairs unit of two staff. Neither of those positions is a teaching position. Although these staff may be called upon to do the work of 12 officers at times, there are, in fact, only two of them.

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