Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 3321 ..

MRS CROSS (6.39): I will also be supporting Ms Tucker's amendment. Like Mr Smyth, I would have preferred to see the date but, given that Ms Tucker has included each month in her amendment, we will wait and see how it goes. At this stage, I will be supporting it.

Amendments agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Adjournment

Australian health care agreement

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (6.40): I bring to the attention of the house the fact that Mr Corbell has broken ranks with his Labor colleagues and signed up to the Australian health care agreement today. We congratulate him on getting that extra $58 million worth of hospital funding for the people of the ACT. We think that is a fabulous outcome, given the rhetoric that Mr Corbell has put up in the past couple of months.

I am pleased that he has taken our advice that he should go and talk to the minister, instead of yelling at her, because he might negotiate a better package. Mr Corbell, to his credit, has managed to get a few extra goodies for the people of the ACT. I congratulate him on that and also thank the federal government for making available funding to boost after-hours access to GPs.

We thank the federal government for agreeing to 50 transitional aged-care beds, worth $1.8 million, and for putting up $5.5 million worth of capital funding for the ACT's new sub and non-acute facility. We congratulate the federal government for now declaring the ACT a district of work force shortage for GP services. We thank the federal government for extending the Commonwealth's outer metropolitan GP incentive scheme to Belconnen, Gungahlin, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong.

It is pleasing that the minister finally took the advice that was given to him: if you negotiate instead of yelling at people, you get a whole lot further. Well done, Mr Corbell, and well done particularly to the federal government for making a significant additional funding commitment to the people of the ACT.

Ms Narelle Hargreaves

MS GALLAGHER (Minister for Education, Youth and Family Services, Minister for Women and Minister for Industrial Relations) (6.42): I rise tonight to speak about one of the ACT's longest serving public servants, Ms Narelle Hargreaves. Ms Hargreaves worked as a teacher, principal and senior officer in education for the past 41 years, the overwhelming majority of that in the ACT as a teacher and educational leader.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .