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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3047 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, in recent days we have seen very few policies from those opposite. In fact, it looks like we are not going to see any policies at all from those opposite running up to the election. Maybe Mr Berry should take on board a new health policy, and maybe it will be the only one he has. Possibly it should be, "No mother will have to wait for more than nine months to give birth in Canberra".

MR KAINE: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. From the Chief Minister's answer, it appears obvious that it was a Labor government that opened those private maternity beds, but I can remember hearing Mr Berry say only last night in the adjournment debate that he told Mr Gary Humphries not to come into the chamber and tell lies. He said it was Mr Humphries who announced the beds. He was the one who approved the beds. Mr Speaker, it was a Liberal decision. Chief Minister, did Mr Berry deliberately mislead the house last night in the adjournment debate?

MRS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Kaine. I am not sure. Either Mr Berry has a very large problem with the facts or Mr Connolly did at that stage. I also have here a press release from Mr Connolly dated 9 May 1994. Again I will table this, for everyone's edification. This was when Mr Connolly was approving 19 additional private surgical beds after he had already approved the maternity beds. He said in this press release:

The new beds are in addition to the 26 bed obstetric unit I recently approved.

He went on to say:

These extra beds will enable John James Hospital to increase the number of people having elective surgery.

He was talking then about the elective surgery beds. He continued:

As a result, more people in the ACT and the surrounding region of New South Wales will wait less time for surgery. Importantly, too, people will have more choice about where they have their operations.

That is an interesting approach. This is all from Mr Connolly:

This is good news across the entire health system for the ACT and the region. More surgery being performed at John James Hospital should free up theatre time at Woden Valley and Calvary Public Hospitals for elective surgery for public patients.

Back to the point at hand here, Mr Speaker: Mr Connolly definitely said this:

... the 26 bed obstetric unit I recently approved.

Mr Speaker, I am not sure who is telling fibs in this situation, but it is certainly one Labor health spokesman. It might be the previous Health Minister and it might be the current spokesman on health. I will table that, for the interest of members.

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