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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3306 ..

MS TUCKER: Will you now consult the ABS statistical data on the net cost to the community of car accidents and fatalities and compute these figures against the lives saved and accidents prevented by a 50 kilometres an hour speed limit and report back to the Assembly? If the calculation shows a net saving to the Canberra community above the initial cost of $1.5m, will you then support the measure as economically rational, given the annual multimillion dollar cost to the community of emergency responses, hospital admissions, insurance, compensation, grief counselling and lost productivity after preventable car accidents?

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, when we have reason to consider the matter put forward by Ms Tucker I will take into account all of the information that is available. By her logic, we should be concentrating on reducing the incidence of accidents on our arterial roads. If 60 per cent of accidents occur on arterial roads, 40 per cent occur in other places, not necessarily all of them on suburban streets. She has not demonstrated at all the fact that 40 per cent of them are on suburban streets, and I do not think the statistics would support that.

Of course, we will look at all of the factors, but I will not be bullied by the Greens into spending public money on a wild goose chase. If and when we spend public money, it will be spent where the need is greatest, and the trauma and all those other things resulting from the 60 per cent of accidents and the 70 per cent of fatal accidents on arterial roads far outweigh the same factors that apply on suburban streets. When we look at it we will take all of those factors into account. I am not yet satisfied that the Greens, or anybody else, have made a case that substantiates our looking at the point that she wants us to look at, given the circumstances in the ACT. As I pointed out, our roads are far superior, and therefore the accident rate is probably far lower than applies elsewhere in Australia. While it might be justified in Western Australia, South Australia or Queensland, it does not necessarily follow that the same conditions apply here.

MS REILLY: My question is to the Chief Minister in her capacity as Minister for Health. Last week it was reported in the Canberra Times that residents of the nursing home wards of the Calvary Hospital would be transferring to the Ginninderra Gardens Nursing Home after 1 October and would consequently be forced to pay the aged care accommodation bond under the provisions of the Commonwealth Aged Care Act. Can you confirm that this is the case? What will be the situation for people who are still residents of Lower Jindalee and who are expected to transfer to the new nursing home? Will these people be forced to pay the accommodation bond because of the delays in the construction of Ginninderra Gardens?

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I think I am being asked to comment on Commonwealth policy. My understanding from reading that document and from letters that I have is yes; that people who move from Calvary Nursing Home to Ginninderra Gardens will be subject to the new Commonwealth law as they are moving after 1 October.

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