Page 3331 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 14 November 2007
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MS GALLAGHER: The only proof Mrs Burke has been able to provide of all of these alleged scandals in the health system is a piece of paper that she has written herself. Well, sorry, but I cannot take that as proof to back up the claims that you are making. In fact, the first claim that was made was that we have a disastrous system in terms of supplies and consumables. As we have seen, and as I said yesterday, what we have had is the Auditor-General come out and say that there is no reason for a performance audit in this area because she can find no significant deficiencies in the processes that ACT Health has put in place to ensure that we have the supplies and consumables we need.
We have this amazing situation where yesterday Mrs Burke attacked the government for delivering record levels of elective surgery. I said that over 9,000 operations have been performed, and Mrs Burke claims that that is a disaster because it shows what a terrible situation the waiting lists are in. She does not realise that the waiting list is not 9,000—that is, operations that have been performed for 9,000 people. But she says, “Well, you should not brag about that as though it is something good.”
Mrs Burke: How long have they waited?
MS GALLAGHER: Mrs Burke, you do not understand the health system, and you are wrong again on that. This motion by the opposition is really trying to set up, I think, an inquiry to try and deliver them some problem with the health system, because they have not been able to find one themselves.
Mr Pratt: That’s the Reba Maegher defence.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Pratt.
MS GALLAGHER: The opposition talks about management beating down staff and problems with supplies. I think this is an amazing situation where the opposition is linking cases outside the ACT as justification for claiming an inquiry needs to happen here. We have so many processes for you to find out information. Mrs Burke asks the question, she gets an answer. We have Assembly committees to use if you want an inquiry into the public health system. Run it through the committee system. I am appearing before the annual reports hearings in the next week. Ask me questions through the committee system. Questions on notice—we answer every single one of them.
Mrs Burke: No, you don’t. You used to.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MS GALLAGHER: Any information the opposition want, they get. There are procedures and processes in place that deal with the opposition’s alleged concerns around the health system. We have had a review into the health system. In fact, a comprehensive review was performed in 2002—the Reid review. That has significantly changed the health system over the past five years. Major reforms were implemented as a part of that. The structure of the health portfolio was simplified.
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