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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (17 April) . . Page.. 995 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

I have given an undertaking to Mr Berry that, on the passing of the amendment to refer the dog issue, shall we say, but not the more general issues, to the health complaints unit, I will write to the Auditor-General and ask him to look into private practice rights for VMOs, their appropriate payments, the usage of public facilities and so on. I think it is a reasonable issue for the Auditor-General to have a look at. It is one that we have had some problems with. With a bit of luck, that separation will mean that my amendments can go through. The Health Complaints Commissioner can look at the dog issue, shall we say, and issues associated with that, and the Auditor-General can look at private practice rights and the usage of public facilities by VMOs and any related issues as a separate entity.

MR BERRY (12.15), in reply: Mr Speaker, I am pleased to see that the Chief Minister now accepts that an inquiry is necessary in relation to both areas. From my point of view, if one person could have been found to do the job, that would have been entirely acceptable. In so far as the Health Complaints Commissioner can deal with the investigation, that is perfectly acceptable to me, and so it ought to be because it is a statutory body that I think I was responsible for introducing. I am puzzled at the early resistance by the Chief Minister in relation to this, because this truly is a formula which will get an independent view of the issue quite separate from those early inquiries, which I do not think would be highly regarded out there in the community, for a variety of reasons.

There is one thing that Mr Humphries raised that I must put to rest because it was quite wrong. He complained that Labor, in office, had not dealt with an inquiry quickly and appropriately in relation to arrangements with ACTTAB. I have to say that when the inquiry was announced, Mr Humphries, I thought, "Gee, that inquiry got off quickly". I would also like to have Mr Humphries remember the record of the inquiry, and that was that it entirely cleared me.

Mr Humphries: Not of misleading the house, it did not.

MR BERRY: I would not keep raising that issue in this Assembly because it was you people who took the debt from ACTTAB and gave it to the people to pay. The people who should have paid the debt are not paying it these days.

Mr Speaker, that being put to rest, the amendments will be supported. I welcome the support of members in general for these inquiries, which I am sure will go a long way to restoring the loss of confidence which has occurred as a result of this unfortunate incident and, I think, the lack of a suitable response by Mrs Carnell and her Government to the incident as it was reported across Australia, and, indeed, across the world.

Amendments agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

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