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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (29 March) . . Page.. 1076 ..

Mr Humphries: Why are we spending insufficient money?

MR QUINLAN: Because overall you have gone up by only $7m. I will cease at this stage because I am incurring the Speaker's displeasure. In summary, you have increased, over the current year, $7m. You have clearly stated you need to spend $5m on additional demand for service. You need to spend an extra $4.5m just to cover price indexation. That is over and above; it exceeds the $7m increase.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (5.05), in reply: It is a great shame, Mr Speaker, that Mr Quinlan does not look at those figures, including the gross figures, more carefully, as I explained them particularly carefully yesterday in the debate. As he correctly says, there is price indexation and there are growth needs. We have actually put in that extra money - the $4.259m, the extra $5m. Mr Quinlan said earlier that you take one from the other. That is wrong and that is the most important thing the Treasurer said today. That is what was quoted in both your press release and also the statement that you made. In fact, in both the words are the same. You said, "the claimed injection of funds is no more than price indexation. The claimed increase for 2001 is $5.11m while inflation is estimated at $4.25m, and this leaves precious little for growth in demand" - except that is what the money is. That is what the $5m is, let alone service improvement. We are putting the money in, Mr Quinlan - - -

Mr Quinlan: No, you're not; you are only putting in an extra $7m.

MR MOORE: That is the whole point, which is why you made an $8m mistake. But if you want, Mr Quinlan, we will provide for you a briefing in writing to make it really clear to you.

Mr Quinlan: I have seen the one that's been forcefed to the media already, thank you.

MR MOORE: If you do not want it, we will not give it to you.

Question resolved in the affirmative.