Page 355 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 7 March 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
in anything that is about substantively improving public health services. All he wants is a bad figure so that he can go out and repeat his tired old mantra. This government has a comprehensive program in place, and it is a program delivering results.
MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. As access block and bypass rarely occurred under the previous government, why have your reforms to the ACT health system failed so comprehensively, despite the additional funds you have provided to the ACT’s health budget?
MR CORBELL: I do not agree with Mr Smyth’s assertion that bypass and access block never occurred when Michael Moore was minister. Is that what he is seriously saying—that access block and bypass never occurred? What a joke!
Policing—response times
MR PRATT: My question is to the minister for police. In a violent incident in Canberra on the weekend of 25 and 26 February, a teenage gang known for its predatory behaviour and violent nature gatecrashed an ordinary teenage party. Despite repeated and urgent calls from parents, culminating in a triple-O call made at 1.30 am, it took police 30 minutes to respond, even though revenge attacks involving serious assaults were in full swing. A young man who attended that party was hospitalised with serious injuries while another guest had a broken nose. Yet again, why has the government failed to resource ACT Policing, resulting in a failure to quickly respond to reports of serious gang violence?
MR HARGREAVES: Firstly, I reject Mr Pratt’s assertion that the government has not resourced adequately our police. In fact, since the Stanhope government came to office, we have seen increased police numbers; we have seen increased resources, going to many, many millions of dollars; we have seen a greater visibility of police in our town centres, in Civic, in Manuka and in the suburbs; and we have seen an incredible success rate on the part of police in attacking major crime incidents.
Mr Pratt can come up with the odd incident here and there. He does this with monotonous regularity because he is insistent on casting aspersions on the quality of the police force in this town. He will continue to find ways in which to denigrate the police, to try to diminish the confidence the public has in their police force. He does not, in fact, encourage—
Mr Smyth: Be honest.
MR SPEAKER: Withdraw that, Mr Smyth.
Mr Smyth: Mr Speaker, you ruled—
MR SPEAKER: Just withdraw it.
Mr Smyth: This morning you ruled that saying “be honest” was acceptable. You refused to make the Chief Minister withdraw it this morning.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .