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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 768 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (Minister for Urban Services) (11.26): Mr Speaker, if anything could prove how vindictive Mr Berry is, I think his speech did that. I think Mr Berry has still not forgotten that the only person I am aware of in whom there was a vote of no confidence for misleading this Assembly was Mr Berry himself. I think that, from the very day that happened, Mr Berry wanted to vindicate himself in any way possible. It is a pity that that is his attitude; but it is his attitude, and he has to live with that. Mr Berry gave no evidence as to why this censure motion should get up. It was a personal attack on Mrs Carnell. He always makes personal attacks on individuals. That is the legacy he is going to leave to this Assembly.

Mr Speaker, I did interject and say that Mr Whitecross's attempt to show that he was the ACT's answer to Tony Blair was like chucking a marshmallow across at this side and having it land over there. That is what happens when you take acting lessons; you tend to forget that you have to be yourself. When you do not have a self to be, of course, that is the best way to do it. So, that is what I was alluding to - the political ability of those opposite, because there simply ain't any. No-one actually got into the nitty-gritty of reading exactly what the Auditor-General said. So, let us finish with the politics of it and let us have a look at the report. Let us have a look at the report carefully. I do not think anybody over on the other side read it, to be very honest. Well, you read it, Mr Wood. Your contribution might be a bit better than that of the people you have in front of you. Mind you, that would not be difficult, I have to say, and it is a pity that you do not have the numbers to reflect that in this place.

Before I go any further, Mr Speaker, I would like to point out that the Auditor-General's report is quite narrow in its focus. No-one has had a look at that issue. The Auditor-General has concentrated on the cost model and the realisation of the predicted savings in 1995-96. That is what he has concentrated on. If you read the report, you will see that that is what he said. However, it is also important to take a broader view of the issue and look at the potential for reform that the VMO arbitration and new contract arrangements achieved. The Auditor-General acknowledged that. He said that there will be "significant impact on the incomes of some VMOs". This suggests that we have set in place some important changes to build on in the future. Of course, the people opposite are not interested in the future; they are interested in scoring some political points. Let them continue to do that and let them live in squalor in their opposition for year after year. Notwithstanding how many leaders they have over the next month or so, it is not going to change their plight.

Mr Speaker, hospital costs in the ACT have to be brought back into the national average levels because the Commonwealth Government, whether it be Labor or Liberal, is not going to tolerate anything else. All we are going to get to spend on health is what the Commonwealth believes ought to be spent - the national average. If we spend more than that, we have to find it from somewhere else. So, let us get that into perspective as well. I think members of the Assembly, and especially members of the crossbenches, ought to realise that. What you do not have you cannot give away. You have to get it from somewhere else. So, if hospital costs in the ACT are to be brought back into the national average levels - a fundamental plank of this Government, by the way - the contract arrangement with the VMOs must continue to be at the forefront of the reform agenda, and it will continue to be under this Government. I believe that the Government's settlement of the long-running dispute was a vital step on this road.

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