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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Thursday, 26 August 2004) . . Page.. 4378 ..

But then we got on to an explanation as to why the allocation and opening of beds for aged care was delayed. One of the explanations was that the Commonwealth only allocates once per year. That, I think, is something that could be taken up and argued with the Commonwealth, whether it would be better to perhaps allocate it twice a year.

The Chief Minister has explained that there will always be in the order of 200 beds or more that are not yet operational. The explanation makes a great deal of sense. However, it does not apply to the ACT. The Chief Minister indicated that, Australia wide, only 40 per cent of beds are operationalised—that is a dreadful word, isn’t it?—within two years. That is fine. The only problem is that here it is 18 per cent.

Mrs Dunne: Only 18 per cent?

MR CORNWELL: Yes, Mrs Dunne. Why? Because we had 255 beds two years ago. We now have 46 of those operational. There are still 209 on line to be used. Forty-six is only about double the number that we managed to put on line during our term of government, so I do not know that this Labor government has much to boast about in respect of what they have done in the provision of aged care beds. We have still got 209 to come on line.

I am sorry, but the Chief Minister in answering an interjection of mine, that this government was not sitting on any beds, is simply not correct. They are clearly sitting on 209 of them and have been for two years. We will need almost double the number of beds to be operationalised in the next two years just to catch up with the Australian average of 40 per cent.

Why have we got this problem? Well, the problem is very simple. Planning delays. I mentioned the other day, in relation to a development over in the old wool sheds at Barton, that they had received permission for that development within six months. Our planning authorities cannot seem to bring our planning arrangements on line in anything less than at least two years. The Assembly committee headed by Ms Dundas made some very sensible recommendations in the report brought down on Tuesday on ways and means to fast-track the aged care facilities.

Again, the government in the ministerial statement listed a number of reasons why there were delays in bringing beds on line. Design work, statutory approvals, can and do take a year or more to arrange, they argue—for design and construction projects worth tens of millions of dollars. I do not know that most of our developments here for aged care run to tens of millions of dollars, but I think they certainly run to millions. Nevertheless, I accept that that is an argument.

Service providers sometimes have to go to their boards, if any, to get further funding if the costs rise. There are certain planning proposals that have to be approved. All of these I do not argue with. The problem, however, is that if you have a slow, cumbersome set of planning proposals, then obviously you are going to delay the approval process and that will have a domino effect upon the organisations concerned.

Calvary Hospital was criticised this afternoon by the Chief Minister: it is their fault that delays are occurring at the moment in the development of the aged care facilities. The

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