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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 3 Hansard (13 March) . . Page.. 1049 ..

The Assembly voted-

		Ayes, 8  			Noes, 9

Mrs Burke

Mr Smyth

Mr Berry

Ms MacDonald

Mr Cornwell

Mr Stefaniak

Mr Corbell

Mr Quinlan

Ms Dundas

Ms Tucker

Mrs Cross

Mr Stanhope

Mrs Dunne

Ms Gallagher

Mr Wood

Mr Pratt

Mr Hargreaves

Question so resolved in the negative.

MR CORNWELL

: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion to remove private members business No 9 from the notice paper.

Mr Corbell

: Mr Speaker, the debate has not been adjourned.

MR SPEAKER

: There is a matter before us, Mr Cornwell. There was a motion to adjourn debate on a matter that was before us. That was defeated and we are now back to that matter.

MR STANHOPE

(Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Community Affairs and Minister for the Environment) (4.00): I would like to speak to the paper. Mr Corbell raised a number of very important issues in relation to the Australian Health Care Agreement and its importance to the health of all Australians, through our capacity to provide the services that we, as a government, are required to provide for our residents.

The issues around the health care agreement and the split of responsibility between the Commonwealth, states and territories are, of course, at the heart of our capacity to provide the range and level of services it is necessary for us to provide-the level of support and services for people here in the ACT which we, as a government, aspire to provide and which our communities demand of us.

Mr Corbell raised a number of significant issues. He raised them in a considered manner, under a number of headings, and highlighted issues that we as a community face. Those are all real issues. They are issues going to the negotiations currently being conducted by the states, territories and the Commonwealth to settle a new health care agreement.

In response to that, Mr Smyth-the Leader of the Opposition-rose to his feet and engaged in a wild spray around the so-called deficiencies of this government. He had a complete disinclination to address the issues in relation to the health care agreement and the fundamentals-the nature of the responsibilities of both the Commonwealth and the territory.

He made great moment about the disinclination of either myself or Mr Corbell to go out and talk to the Commonwealth, to negotiate a better position for the territory-to achieve greater outcomes and outputs for the territory. This is in an environment where the Commonwealth Health Minister boycotted the last Health Ministers meeting-she simply refused to turn up. That was a meeting duly convened by Health Ministers to

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