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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (16 April) . . Page.. 954 ..

Title read by Clerk.

MRS CARNELL: This Bill provides an appropriation of $14.2m to the Department of Health and Community Care for this financial year. It varies the original appropriation for Health and Community Care by 4.8 per cent, from $297.1m to $311.3m. Significantly, this additional appropriation is funded from within the total original budget limits set by the Government for this financial year. Mr Speaker, this appropriation will not require the Government to undertake additional borrowings to cover the expenditure of $14.2m. The need for any further borrowings this year will ultimately depend upon any further reductions in revenue associated with the economic performance of the Territory. Put simply, we are not prepared to adopt the practice that has been used in previous years of making artificial cash management arrangements to conceal what is a significant overrun in the health and community care budget. This Government believes that a second appropriation by the Assembly is a more open and transparent mechanism for budget adjustment.

Mr Speaker, today I will outline why this overrun has occurred and what steps the Department of Health and Community Care is taking to address what is a clearly unacceptable budget performance. The community should demand nothing less. Mr Speaker, in our budget last year this Government outlined a significant reform program for the Department of Health and Community Care. Of fundamental importance was the goal of enhancing the health of the people of the Canberra region by improving health, improving client service and quality of life outcomes, valuing and improving staff effectiveness, and improving resource management.

The budget reflected a three-year strategy for increased efficiency to allow the Government to achieve service improvements without significant additional outlays, with the overall aim of bringing our health costs into line with appropriate national benchmarks over that period. This strategy included the restructure of the department along purchaser-provider lines; improving operational efficiency, particularly in the hospital and corporate areas; and the transfer of some services, including Upper Jindalee Nursing Home and general medical practice, to the private sector. We also outlined a number of new initiatives, such as a waiting list reduction incentive program, the provision of individual support packages for people with disabilities, and matching of Commonwealth growth funds for the home and community care program.

Mr Speaker, since that time important progress has been made on improvements in health and community care services. However, I am sure that you all share my concern about the need for a much improved performance in the area of financial management. Before I outline the Government's strategy to rein in health costs and improve financial management in Health and Community Care, it is important to detail the key factors behind this second appropriation. Three key cost areas have been identified. These are cost increases relating to additional services and throughput totalling $4.2m; delays in the implementation of the operational efficiency agenda, at a cost to budget of $8.7m; and $1.3m in costs associated with delays in the sale of Upper Jindalee Nursing Home. This makes a total of $14.2m.

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