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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 11 Hansard (13 December) . . Page.. 2953 ..

Debate resumed from 6 December 1995.

Motion (by Mr Moore) proposed:

That the debate be adjourned.

MR BERRY (11.26): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to debate the motion for the adjournment in the normal way.

Leave not granted.

MR BERRY: I therefore move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Berry from debating the question that the debate be adjourned.

This motion has been before the chamber for some time now and has been adjourned previously. It is one of concern to many constituents because it involves the withdrawal of important health services at health centres. It involves the sale of health centres and is a matter this Assembly should deal with. Brushing it aside is just not good enough. Mrs Carnell, as I understand it, gave undertakings in the past to Mr Osborne that she would not sell Kippax Health Centre; but we now know, with new information that has come to hand, that Mrs Carnell has no intention of sticking to that promise.

Mr Moore: That is the substance of the motion, not the adjournment.

MR SPEAKER: Careful. That is exactly right.

MR BERRY: No, Mr Speaker; these are the reasons why this matter should not be adjourned. I am speaking in opposition to the adjournment and I am seeking to suspend standing orders in order that that matter can be dealt with. We need to suspend the standing orders to deal with that debate in order that the community can be aware of the Government's position and the position of the Independents. Mr Moore has made no secret of the fact that he does not care so much about the salaried medical officers and he does not care about the sale of the health centres, but Mr Osborne has a different position. He has been burnt, and I think the pressure is on Mr Osborne to support this motion to suspend standing orders to enable us to deal with a debate about the adjournment. He has been burnt again. He has been misled.

Mrs Carnell has adopted the crash or crash through mentality when it comes to these issues, and I think she has to be stopped in her tracks. The only way we can do that is to pass a motion and force her to stick to it, or threaten her Government if she fails to. It is as simple as that.

Mr Moore: And then you might get government.

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