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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1131 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Mr Speaker, this hospital is proposed to have a coronary care unit in it. A couple of months ago, I heard complaints by one of the luminaries from the existing private hospital system in the ACT that the new private hospital, not yet established, was having a say in the selection of cardiac surgeons in the ACT. It did strike me as very odd that that was the case, given that the contracts had not been signed.

Mr Speaker, this is a sensible inquiry. It is an inquiry into the effects on the people of the ACT of a new private hospital. Mrs Carnell has moved very smartly to sign and to ensure that these contracts are signed so that this Assembly can have nothing to do with it. But, now we will be able to show the people of the ACT the full effects of Mrs Carnell's decision on the public hospital system and the private hospital system, and there will be a comprehensive inquiry into the likely effects of this hospital, Mr Speaker. I commend this motion to the Assembly and I trust that I will have its support.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care) (12.08): Mr Speaker, when I received notice of this motion from Mr Berry earlier this week, I have to say, I was flabbergasted. It takes an awful lot to surprise me about the things that Mr Berry puts forward, but this was one of them that did surprise me. Since we came to government we have made no secret of our decision to establish a private hospital on the Canberra Hospital campus; but certainly since August 1996 - which was not exactly yesterday - we have made it very clear. In fact, it was in August 1996 that we actually went out to tender. Mr Berry himself put out a press release in July 1996 suggesting that this was not a good idea. We all know that he does not like private hospitals. You would think that, in the nine or 10 months since we called for expressions of interest for the new private hospital, he would have had all sorts of opportunities to bring forward a motion or to debate it in this place; but he did not.

On 3 January 1997, I announced that, after a two-stage selection process, Health Care of Australia had been appointed as the preferred proponent and that the Department of Health and Community Care would seek to enter into an agreement within three months. So, we announced it in January and said that we would have something in place in three months - not exactly a rush job in signing the contract. In fact, the contract was signed somewhat more than three months after I announced the preferred proponent. Those three months obviously expired on 16 April 1997. At that time, I was advised that, with the exception of a few minor outstanding issues, the signing of the agreement was imminent. Those matters have now been resolved and an agreement has been signed.

In fact, I agreed that senior government officers should brief Mr Berry last week. I understand that they advised him at that stage that the signing of the agreement was going to happen in the very near future. That is probably what sparked Mr Berry to bring it to the Assembly. So, far from our speeding up the process, Mr Speaker, it just means that Mr Berry has been very slow to move in the 10 months or so since we announced it. Immediately after the agreement was signed and after six months of the Government's intention being clear - in fact, I would suggest that it was even longer than that - Mr Berry has decided to call for a select committee.

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