Page 1017 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 15 March 2005
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MR SPEAKER: No. It is perfectly in order.
Mr Smyth: Thank you, Mr Speaker. It may well be perfectly in order but I am just raising—from looking at House of Representatives Practice—the real purpose of matters of public importance and highlighting the fact that all we have had from the member is a litany of something that the government did, in the supposition that it is somehow something new.
Mr Stanhope: Don’t you think it is important?
MR SMYTH: Celebrating the birthday of Canberra is certainly important but I am looking at the House of Representatives Practice and just pointing out that it does not necessarily match the criteria for how it might work. It is an important motion. We on this side of the house think it is an important motion because it highlights the dearth of activity in the last three years from this government.
The Chief Minister, in his speech on implementing the Canberra plan, spoke about how this year—or in the last couple of months—we had celebrated Christmas, New Year, Australia Day and Canberra Day. The question would be, “So?” Other governments have done that, except that this government, from 2001 through to 2003, cancelled New Year’s Eve celebrations; and fireworks were cancelled on days like Australia Day and Canberra Day. Indeed much was cancelled, including car races and other celebrations. It was only after 2½ years of consultation that the Chief Minister finally woke up to the fact that the public enjoyed those celebrations and finally admitted that in his social plan.
Some of the components of this are, in fact, important issues. I thank the Chief Minister and join the others in congratulating the Canberra citizens of the year—the staff of Clare Holland House. This highlights that we as a community should appreciate Clare Holland House—I think we all join with the Chief Minister in wishing them well on the receipt of their award. But I think that, on one hand, to congratulate somebody for the job they have done and say, “Well done”, but on the other hand not to give them the resources to do the job properly is a bit of a backhander.
In the lead-up to the last election the opposition brought to light the fact that there is a waiting list to get into our hospice. There is a waiting list of people who do not receive proper palliative care. They are either cared for at home by their loved ones, by the palliative care nurses who visit, or they are in hospital. Most hospital clinicians will tell you that palliative care should not be delivered in the hospital setting for a number of reasons: one, it is inappropriate; and two, it puts additional pressure on the hospital system, particularly when it is short of acute care beds.
Obviously there will be days when people are admitted to hospital and, unfortunately, that is where they will die; but we need to have in place a process to ensure that they are quickly moved to Clare Holland House, where they will receive more appropriate care. The problem is that they cannot get a bed because Clare Holland House is inevitably full. It is my understanding that they feel the need for an additional 10 beds. It is my understanding that those 10 beds will cost—
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