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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 1 Hansard (17 February) . . Page.. 256 ..

Mr Smyth: Should we get comfy here?

MR OSBORNE: No. This is an interesting debate. I have sat back very intently and listened to the debate on this - - -

Ms Tucker: That is unparliamentary.

Mr Moore: You have not been here.

MR OSBORNE: Ms Tucker accuses me of misleading. I think I may well be, Mr Deputy Speaker. I want to read out a few statements. Quote:

Trying to balance the ACT budget and health was this Government's biggest problem area. Health's budget had blown out every year and had been bailed out repeatedly by weak-kneed governments. The more the ACT overspent on health, the less money there was for other services and it was time the Government brought the problem under control.

Who said that, Mr Deputy Speaker? Mr Moore. I have a whole list here. Would you like me to go on? I quote:

"It is totally irresponsible of the Chief Minister to threaten the morale of staff employed in the health ... systems by implying that there could be cuts to their budgets," Mr Moore said.

I will not prolong the agony of Mr Moore. Mr Speaker, I have looked at this motion of Mr Stanhope's. It is not a censure motion but it clearly states to the Minister that we have some real problems with the hospital. One of the issues that won me on supporting this motion was the fact that it not only expresses grave concern over the Minister's problem with the hospital but also of this Government. Some of the speakers on the other side of the chamber have spoken about the many things that Mrs Carnell said about what she was going to do within Health, but I do not want to dwell on that. The reality is that this Government fell well short of what they promised to do prior to the 1995 election. By supporting this motion, Mr Speaker, I think we are sending a clear message to the Minister.

I would like to congratulate the Minister on the amount of information that he does put out, although I am a little bit suspicious. When the information kept coming and coming and coming, I thought to myself, "Michael's either being open and consultative like nothing we have seen before, or he is going out on the front foot". He thought that rather than someone else coming up with it, he would get it out.

I do have a concern with paragraph (5) in this motion, Mr Speaker. I think it contradicts everything else that we are saying and that this Assembly is saying that the buck stops with you, Mr Moore, and the buck stops with this Government, yet you are not allowed to have anything to do with the day-to-day management of the Canberra Hospital. I think that paragraph (5) is a bit - - -

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