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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (29 June) . . Page.. 2300 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Had Mr Osborne been here at question time and after question time when we tabled papers, he would have known that I have tabled papers on this matter. He would know that the nurse to patient ratio at Canberra Hospital is significantly better than in a whole range of other hospitals across Australia. I welcome this legislation, Mr Speaker. It can only add to the great work that goes on at the Canberra Hospital. It will be very interesting to see whether it deals with the different work practices that apply at the Calvary Hospital and at the Canberra Hospital.

Mr Speaker, there is a different work practice in terms of the way they do shifts at the Calvary Hospital where they work 8, 8, 8-hour shifts. At the Canberra Hospital the nurses work an 8, 8, 10-hour shift. As I understand it, the number of nurses that the Canberra Hospital claims it is short is taken up just in that different work practice. Are we to believe that treatment at the Calvary Hospital is worse than the treatment at the Canberra Hospital because of this? That is one of the issues.

I know that other ministers have tried to take on this issue with the nurses union, and because nurses at the Canberra Hospital feel so strongly about this it is a pointless exercise. That illustrates the point that just because the nurses union says something does not actually make it right. Just because they go to the Industrial Relations Commission and claim they have a win does not actually mean they had a win. If we go back and look at the Industrial Relations Commission hearings since I have been a minister, I am sure you cannot claim that there has been an overwhelming win by the nurses union.

I would like to acknowledge that Mr Rugendyke is back in the chamber. I would also like to acknowledge that it is a rare thing for Mr Rugendyke not to be in the chamber.

MR SPEAKER: Minister, are you taking your second 10 minutes?

MR MOORE: Yes, Mr Speaker. Mr Osborne also raised the issue of the management of the Canberra Hospital. Have a look at the Anderson report that I tabled here today. Incredible improvements have occurred under the management at the Canberra Hospital. I did listen to what the Assembly told me when the motion of grave concern was debated. Of course I listened, but I was already under way with those things, and it is improving.

More importantly, have a look at the quality performance indicators for the Canberra Hospital that I quoted today. Again and again and again through those quality indicators, done at arm's length by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, is the good news of just how much better our hospital is than other hospitals around Australia. What was the overriding instruction that I gave and have reiterated in here again and again about improvement in management practices at the Canberra Hospital? Never at the price of patient care. That makes it very difficult for Mr Rayment to do his job. It makes it very difficult for the board, under the able guidance of its chair, Mr Peter McPhillips, to do their job. But they proceed to do it, putting patient care as priority one.

This is not the work of a minister who is not interested and who only concentrates on drugs. Mr Rugendyke, I ask you, in particular, and if Mr Osborne was here I would ask him the same thing: please don't suggest what you know to be incorrect-that I only spend time on drugs, or my whole time is spent on drugs issues. That is simply not the case. I think both of you know that that is not true. You know it because when I am

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