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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 9 Hansard (20 August) . . Page.. 2434 ..
MR STANHOPE (continuing):
budget, as a result of which we have lifted the per capita funding for mental health services from $67 to $93.
Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, I am pleased to hear about all of that, but my question was actually about waiting lists.
MR STANHOPE: For the information of members, I am drawing attention to the fact that elective surgery is a priority, as are disability services, mental health services, oncology services, and acute care. There are a whole range of priorities within the health system and we have made decisions around them. We, as a government, provided funds for health in the budget process. We increased health funding by 13 per cent. We increased funding for our public hospitals by 12 per cent-a 12 per cent increase in funding for the Canberra hospitals. We provided an additional $4.7 million to Calvary between the election and June. We provided an additional $8.7 million to Canberra Hospital between the election and June and then we increased their funding in this budget by 12 per cent.
There is only so much money. There is no limitless supply; it is not a bottomless bucket. We provided an additional $8.7 million for Canberra Hospital up till June. We provided an additional $4.7 million to Calvary. In the budget we increased their funding by 12 per cent. These are most significant increases in health funding.
Mr Smyth: But everything is blowing out.
MR STANHOPE: It may be argued, as Mr Smyth has argued, that all of our funds, all of our initiatives, should have gone to elective surgery. That is Mr Smyth's argument.
Mr Smyth: No, you misrepresent me.
MR STANHOPE: Mr Smyth, as I understand it, has a four-pronged approach to elective surgery. Let's go through the prongs one by one.
Mr Smyth: Read it. It is a good approach.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Chief Minister, stick to the subject of the question asked by Mr Humphries. Mr Smyth, please hold yourself back from interjecting.
MR STANHOPE: We do need to go through the four prongs, Mr Speaker. Perhaps I can do so in response to another question. I can do so in response to any supplementary question.
MR HUMPHRIES: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Minister, you mentioned spending more money. What specifically is this government's strategy for reducing waiting lists, apart from just spending money in the health system?
MR STANHOPE
: That was prong one of Mr Smyth's four-pronged approach; prong one was to spend more money. It is the height of hypocrisy and shows the absurdity of the claims that the opposition make in relation to this matter. We are castigated for throwing money at the hospitals and we are castigated for spending more on health, so Mr Smyth responds with a four-pronged approach. And what is prong one? Prong one is
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