Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (22 February) . . Page.. 210 ..

Mr Berry: What is it now?

MRS CARNELL: Mr Berry asks, "What is it now?". It was 4,569 in February last year and it is now 4,462. There are 107 fewer people on the waiting list now.

MR SPEAKER: Order! How many fewer did you say?

MRS CARNELL: There are 107 fewer.

Mr Berry: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mrs Carnell might tell us in her speech how many were put through the hospital as well.

MRS CARNELL: I am happy to do that. You only have to ask.

Ms McRae: And how many have died?

MRS CARNELL: I could probably tell you that if you would like to wait.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MRS CARNELL: We have 107 fewer people on our waiting list at the moment; but, again, I do not believe that having 4,462 on our waiting list is acceptable. That is the reason why we have gone into major restructuring in our health system. That is the reason why we need to spend more money on patients and less on administration.

Mr Berry asked about activity levels. I am happy to tell him that activity levels at our hospitals are up 4.5 per cent on the same time last year. We have seen an extra 900-odd patients in comparison to the same time under the previous Government. Again, I do not think that is good enough. I think we have to improve substantially from there. We still have a hospital system that costs us probably as much as 30 per cent more than similar hospitals in other places. We still have, I think, 413 clerical staff at Woden Valley Hospital. We still have a situation where the cost of running our hospitals is simply out of control. That is the reason why we have to implement the Booz Allen approach to our hospitals, but at this stage we have not been able to do that. Why have we not, Mr Speaker? We have not been able to do it simply because those unions who claim to be doing the right thing by the people of Canberra simply will not let us implement important changes. Under the previous Government 200 hospital beds were cut out of the system to give us the lowest number of public hospital beds per capita in Australia.

As I said earlier, Mr Speaker, we inherited a Consolidated Fund that was zero in February 1995. In July 1991 when Ms Follett took office it stood at $180m. There was $180m in the bank when Ms Follett came to office and there was zero in it when the people of Canberra kicked her out. That has to be a really wonderful deal! During that time, as well, rates went up by 30 per cent in Canberra - 30 per cent at a time when inflation was somewhere in the vicinity of 6.6 or 6.7 per cent. Is that a good deal for Canberrans? What did we do? Rates went up by the CPI, and the CPI alone.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .