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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 12 Hansard (20 November) . . Page.. 4415 ..

MR CORBELL: Mrs Cross might be fixated on times, but this government is focused on outcomes, on improving health services in the Canberra community, on improving the-

Mrs Cross: You're the process boy. I think that you should give the ministry to Mr Berry.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mrs Cross! You asked a question. Please let the minister answer it.

Mrs Cross: He is not really answering it, Mr Speaker. It is a diatribe.

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Cross, he is answering the question.

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, these issues are all outlined in the health action plan. They are all issues that the community raised with us through the wide-ranging process that my predecessor as Minister for Health, Mr Stanhope, initiated. We are following through and we are delivering. We are delivering in all of these key areas. The government has also worked to improve work force issues in the ACT. That is another important element of the health action plan.

We are improving our capacity to deliver better opportunities for nurses, allied health professionals, doctors and VMOs. Indeed, on VMO issues, another important element of work force planning, as outlined in the health action, is that the VMOs recently agreed, in the first process ever in the history of self-government, to a negotiated outcome that has not involved disruption to our public hospital services. The government's record on health is strong. My commitment, as much as the commitment of my predecessor as Minister for Health, Mr Stanhope, is a strong one. I am very pleased to be in a position, thanks to Mrs Cross, to outline our commitment on those issues today.

Carlaminda Court, Florey

MRS BURKE: Mr Speaker, my question, through you, is to the Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Mr Wood. I refer to concerns that residents of Carlaminda Court, an aged persons complex in Florey managed by ACT Housing, have raised with the opposition. There have been at least 31 cases of harassment of residents in the past three months-

Mr Cornwell: How many?

MRS BURKE: Thirty-one, Mr Cornwell, including car theft and threats to residents. That is sourced from page 1 of the Northside Chronicle of 4 November 2003. The source of the problem appears to be an ACT Housing property nearby containing young tenants relocated from Charnwood, some of whom are well known to the police. Indeed, I understand that 10 AVOs have been taken out against occupants of the house at various times. Minister, why did you relocate these difficult tenants to a property next door to an aged persons complex without giving proper consideration to whether it was an appropriate situation?

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