Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 1 Hansard (17 February) . . Page.. 229 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

We spend more money per capita than any other State or Territory in Australia, and we have maintained that. We are providing funds to make Canberra a better place to live in.

Mr Speaker, that is a direct quote from Mr Kaine. It is hard to believe the difference between that and the comments he seemed to be making this morning. It is hard to believe that things could have changed.

Mr Speaker, I will use another quote to explain just how hypocritical members of this Assembly have been in this debate. Mr Berry, when he was in opposition back in 1990, said:

One of the best performance indicators of a hospital system is the waiting lists.

Mr Moore: Is this Mr Berry?

MS CARNELL: This is Mr Berry. But then he became Health Minister. (Extension of time granted) Mr Berry said in this Assembly - so he was obviously telling the truth - in November 1993:

... waiting lists are not the measure you use for total hospital performance; they do not complete the full picture.

Mr Speaker, that is exactly what Mr Moore was saying earlier.

Mr Humphries: Mr Moore quotes Mr Berry too.

Mr Moore: Mr Berry was right.

MS CARNELL: I am sure that we have got any amount of quotes. Mr Speaker, this is a fascinating insight into how Labor saw health then and how it sees health - and now of course, from Mr Kaine's quotes too, how he saw health then and how he sees it now.

Mr Stanhope said that this Government cannot manage our health system. So, let us talk about what this Government has achieved in health over the last 31/2 years. This morning, Mr Kaine seemed to be making the comment that nothing had been done. Mr Speaker, I have to say that that is a bit of an indictment of Mr Kaine himself, because he was part of that Government. In fact, he was Assistant Treasurer and put together one of those budgets.

Mr Speaker, over the last 31/2 years we have created an adolescent unit at Canberra Hospital - promised by Labor but never delivered. We created a cardio-thoracic surgical unit at Canberra Hospital - promised by Labor but never delivered. We have got Canberra's first long-stay convalescent ward - again, Mr Speaker, something promised by Labor back in 1989 and never delivered. We have made savings of more than $18m during our first three years in government - savings that were ploughed back into the

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .