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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 390 ..

Mr Berry: You said it was happening.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry can look at the ads in the paper; they are there in the paper in black and white. In July 1996 we advertised for expected vacancies in the service - - -

Mr Berry: I have it here; from 1 October it will happen.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry, I cannot guard against all eventualities. The physical ambulance itself is available. We advertised for the crews to man it. We put money aside in the budget to pay those crews, when they were available. Indeed, we actually recruited enough staff to fully man the fifth ambulance. Unfortunately, other people who were already on the payroll of the Ambulance Service retired, took leave or were retired on invalidity grounds, or whatever. As a result, it has not been possible to man that shift on a full-time basis from the beginning of the proposal for the service.

Mr Speaker, I do not rise in this place in any sense apologetically. We said that we needed a fifth crew, and we have substantially delivered that fifth crew. On my advice, on every day shift since the beginning of this year there have been five crews available to help the people of Canberra; and on 75 per cent of the night shifts there have been five crews to help the people of Canberra. I do not rise in any sense apologetically, and I certainly will not apologise to those people opposite who promised shamelessly a fifth crew in 1991 and never delivered.

MR WOOD: Mr Humphries is ducking for cover as usual, blaming everybody else but himself.

MR SPEAKER: No preamble, Mr Wood; as you know, there must be no preamble to a supplementary question.

MR WOOD: I have said what I need to say. Minister, you have indicated that you have not delivered as you promised. You have reluctantly acknowledged that. Will you, therefore, apologise for this fraud on the members of this Assembly who voted for your budget and also to the ACT car owners who have been paying this road rescue levy under false pretences?

MR HUMPHRIES: I have fully answered that question. I will simply say this: Money does not solve every problem, Mr Wood. The money is there. It is not an issue of money; it is an issue of finding the people available who are properly qualified and properly trained to run the service. I cannot kidnap people from other jurisdictions, bring them here and force them to work on our ambulances, but I can make reasonable endeavours to find those people. Mr Wood, if you have a better solution as to how to force people to work in our Ambulance Service, I invite you to put it forward in this debate.

MR SPEAKER: The second part of the question is an imputation and is out of order.

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