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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 8 Hansard (28 October) . . Page.. 2358 ..

Mr Hargreaves: How do you know?

MR MOORE: How do I know? The reason I know is that I go out there and visit very regularly. In fact, the most recent time was at about 11 o'clock last Friday night and earlier that week. I talk to the hospital management at Calvary very regularly. The issue of bed numbers is not a critical issue; it is a management issue. The critical issue is whether we are delivering services effectively. Of course, it is a broad indicator - - -

Mr Berry: It is critical if you have not got any.

MR MOORE: Mr Berry's broad response is that it is critical if you have not got any. Yes, that is the case, Mr Berry. Most of us would accept that if you do not have any beds that would be a broad indicator of a not very good hospital. I would have thought that Mr Berry, having been a Minister for Health for quite some time, would understand that the issues are somewhat more complex than that.

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. In the interests of sharing around those broad indicators - contrary to the Minister, we are interested in knowing about these very broad indicators - can the Minister find out how many public beds have been closed at Calvary Hospital? Has the number of private beds in Calvary Hospital increased? If so, how many of them are there? I also ask whether that decrease in the number of public hospital beds and the increase in the private hospital beds match each other and, if so, why? Will he table that result?

MR MOORE: Certainly. Mr Speaker, I will be happy to take that on notice and table the result.

MR BERRY: My question is to the Minister for Justice and Community Safety. Through you, Mr Speaker: Minister, the Canberra Times of 2 September reported that, when asked about suggestions of a conflict of interest among Corrective Services staff investigating allegations of misconduct at the Periodic Detention Centre, the Minister said that two officers had disqualified themselves from any part in the investigation. Can the Minister tell the Assembly whether investigations into the matter by the police and the Auditor-General have been completed and, if so, what those investigations determined?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I can give the Assembly some information, and I thank Mr Berry for the question. At lunchtime today I received a report from the Federal Police on their investigation into allegations about improper conduct within the Periodic Detention Centre at Symonston and the allegations into claims by a former officer of ACT Corrective Services about matters concerning, or alleging, a criminal conspiracy to cover up the other allegations into certain matters at the PDC.

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