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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 577 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

The private psychiatry beds were not recommended by me or by my Government, but by the Fjeldsoe report into mental health services. It suggested that an area in which we were failing was that we did not have any private psychiatry beds and that that was putting too much pressure on our public facilities. That report itself indicated that it was not that we did not have enough private acute psychiatry beds in Canberra but that we did not have an appropriate balance, Mr Speaker. If Mr Berry had bothered for two seconds to read that report - and, for that matter, others - he would have known that. He would also have known that we have exactly the same number of public/private psychiatry beds now as we had when he was Health Minister. There has been no downgrading whatsoever, Mr Berry.

Mr Speaker, I believe that Mr Clarke particularly and all of those people in Mental Health Services who have restructured our mental health crisis service, who are restructuring our management, who are really getting on with the job, are doing a bloody good job. It is a great pity that everyone in this Assembly cannot get together and say thank you.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a short statement in relation to the claim made by Mrs Carnell with regard to the Executive Director of Mental Health Services.

MR SPEAKER: Is this a personal explanation under standing order 46?

MR BERRY: Yes, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Proceed.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, Mrs Carnell said that the Executive Director of Mental Health Services ran the Mental Health Service. I refer to the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act, Mr Speaker, which states:

Functions

113. The Director has the following functions:

(a) to provide treatment, care, rehabilitation and protection for persons who have a psychiatric illness;

(b) to rationalise and co-ordinate mental health services and to promote the establishment of community-based mental health services for the purpose of enabling, whenever possible, the treatment of persons who have a psychiatric illness otherwise than in an institution;

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