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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Tuesday, 25 May 2004) . . Page.. 2175 ..

Aged-care facilities

MRS DUNNE (12.56): We have been here today to fix up the failings of this government in relation to the people of Gungahlin, and I draw to the Assembly’s attention yet another failing of this government and the Planning Minister in relation to the people of—

An incident having occurred in the gallery—

MR SPEAKER: Order! Resume your seat, please, Mrs Dunne. We extend a warm welcome to everybody who comes to watch this Assembly operate, but we cannot tolerate the Assembly being disrupted by interjections. If you cannot remain quiet, leave the chamber.

MRS DUNNE: I am rising again to highlight another failing of this government, this time in relation to the people of Belconnen, the aged community and the Little Company of Mary and Calvary Hospital. Members would have seen in Saturday’s paper a public notification of draft variation to the Territory Plan 241 and presumably they would have received it in their offices yesterday or today.

This is a draft variation that changes the road alignment so that the Little Company of Mary can take up their offer of a lease over the old Bruce Hostel site and get on with building an aged-care facility, which is desperately overdue. The Little Company of Mary and Calvary Health Care sought to build an aged-care facility with up to 100 nursing home and hostel beds and up to 80 self-care units.

The agreement in principle was made before the last election. When the Minister for Planning became the Minister for Health as well as the Minister for Planning, he made some commitments in an estimates committee, saying, “Well, now, that I’m both of these things I can really facilitate this process.” The Little Company of Mary and the people of Belconnen are crying out for this piece of infrastructure.

What do we see today, more than 2 ½ years down the track? We are just getting to the making of a variation to the territory plan. We will not see this facility approved in the life of this government, and this is a monumental failure of this government and the Minister for Planning and Minister for Health. They stand condemned for their lack of action.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

The Assembly adjourned at 12.58 pm until Tuesday, 22 June 2004, at 10.30 am.

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