Page 1307 - Week 05 - Thursday, 31 May 2007
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waiting lists you expressed concern about the increase in the median waiting time for elective surgery in the ACT’s public hospitals. You said that the median waiting time had “gone up quite dramatically”. At the same time you said that there was a deliberate targeting of patients who had had long periods waiting for their surgery; that is people who have been waiting for surgery for more than one or two years. Minister, how can the median waiting time for elective surgery have increased when there has been a 20 per cent reduction in people waiting for long periods for surgery?
Mrs Burke: Twenty-six per cent actually.
MR PRATT: Sorry, 26 per cent; I correct that. I withdraw my mislead, Mr Speaker.
MS GALLAGHER: It is interesting—we talk about these things in caucus from time to time—the strategies at question time. They had been forming a combined effort, and a bit of a strategy was emerging of everyone asking the same minister a question. We in fact commented on how together the opposition were in getting organised and that they obviously had a great strategic mind somewhere behind writing the questions. It is a shame they did not actually get the questions right to put pressure on the ministers, but there was a strategy—or a skeleton of a strategy—in place, which has to be acknowledged. But today we see the breakout group. Who are they, the breakout group? It is a classic—
Mr Mulcahy: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. We are now one minute into a dissertation. As interested as we are in the workings of caucus, it has absolutely nothing to do with Mr Pratt’s question.
MS GALLAGHER: I am getting to the question.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Come to the subject matter of the question.
MS GALLAGHER: I am, because it is relevant to the question. In terms of the questions I have been asked on health today it is relevant because we had the leader, who started the charge with health, and then we saw his loyal subjects back him up. We have had Jacqui Burke back him up. We have had Steve Pratt back him up. We have even had Zed, interestingly, back him up. But then we have had the breakout group of Brendan—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MS GALLAGHER: Brendan’s obsession with the Chief Minister’s diary. Richard has had a bust-out on Treasury and Mrs Dunne on the arboretum.
Mrs Burke: Haven’t you got anything better to do than—
MS GALLAGHER: We have to provide comment when comment is due. I take again the opportunity to talk through why, despite investment in elective surgery and more throughput than ever before—exceeding 9,000 procedures; that is over 9,000 people removed from the list, which is also in the report in terms of elective surgery performance—the median waiting time has increased.
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