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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 6 Hansard (1 September) . . Page.. 1718 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Seriously, we seek to do the very best we can. I do not think there will ever be a perfect set of services, because there is not an unlimited amount of money. I know that every single community group that I talk to could use more money in a reasonable way. As you correctly identified, Mr Wood, we have injected funds into areas where we have seen greatest need, making it very clear that we have a caring and, with the direction we are taking, a clever budget.

Mr Speaker, in the areas that Mr Wood identified we will work our very best. I do not think it is worth while my going through them individually. However, I will answer a couple of questions, particularly the one on the tenders from outside the ACT and the one on the SACS award. Mr Wood indicated that he has put a question on the notice paper - and no doubt that will give you a more detailed answer - on tenders from outside the ACT. The reality is that if we are able to get cheaper services, provided we maintain the quality of the services, then that gives us more money to spend to provide for individuals. It is the individuals we are interested in more than the actual service provider. (Extension of time granted) We have to make sure that our services are focused on the individuals receiving those services. If we can find a provider who will provide exactly the same or better services and they happen to come from outside the ACT, we should accept the tender and provide the services in that way. The tender process has to be a genuine process.

I was informed by the department that a contract was going to be offered to somebody from outside the ACT. My approach is that if they won the tender in a fair and open process, and provided there is no reduction in quality, then it is appropriate that that group should be awarded the contract. I realise that that has caused some concern from groups within the ACT. I also know that it has put other groups on their toes to look at delivering services in a better way.

Mr Wood also raised the issue of the SACS award. Money has been put aside within the department to try to assist people where necessary. The difficulty I have is that if I identify the level of funds then, because the vast majority of groups are interested in delivering services, they will not look at the money in terms of their own SACS award, as is reasonable, but look at it as a bucket of money which they can get a share of and distribute. There is some money. Where people have needed extra assistance to deal with the SACS award issues, we have written it into the contracts. The outcome is what we are interested in. We are interested in the best outcome for the services, provided people can also meet the requirements of the SACS award. It is amazing how well community groups have responded.

That leads me to an interesting difference between what Mr Stanhope has been saying and what Mr Wood has been saying. Mr Stanhope identified staffing levels of nurses as an issue about which there has been some dispute. Nurses have been asking for some extra 50 nurses at the hospital. The cost of that is approximately $3m. If we did have $3m - and you can see in the budget that we do not have $3m - would we spend it on extra nurses at the Canberra Hospital or would that money get much better health outcomes if we put it into community care, where it might also be spent on nurses? I think that is an important question for us. The questions are always: "Where are your priorities?

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