Page 4467 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 14 October 2009
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so that we can make the decision. We all know that this will come back to the Assembly. We all know that there will be an approp bill for this because we take the Treasurer at her word; she said so. But we want somebody independent to look at the data and assure us that the data is valid. If the government are scared of that then you really have to question what it is they are proposing and ask: why are you afraid of an independent audit? (Time expired.)
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (3.27): I am very pleased to stand in support of Mr Hanson’s motion which, despite all the rhetoric and all the spin, is a simple and straightforward motion which is well within the purview of this place because, as everyone who has any understanding of the Auditor-General Act knows, the Auditor-General answers to this place, which is why the executive cannot direct the Auditor-General.
Mr Hanson’s motion asks the Auditor-General to undertake an independent review and evaluate an amount of documentation that relates to the proposal to purchase Calvary hospital and to sell Clare Holland House. It is simple and it is straightforward and it is something which is completely and utterly within the purview of the Auditor-General. It is within the capacity of the Auditor-General to analyse the financial reports to see whether they actually meet the needs of this process and whether they provide enough information to the people of the ACT so that they can be properly informed—
Ms Gallagher: An estimates committee can determine that.
MRS DUNNE: She has had her turn. This is about making sure the people of the ACT are properly informed about the sale process and whether or not the sale process does the principal thing that we are supposed to be doing here in relation to the Calvary hospital: ensuring the delivery of the best possible health services for the people of the ACT. That is what the Canberra Liberals are about in this matter. This is about whether or not this proposal will deliver the best possible health services to the people of the ACT.
We are the only people in this place who are not driven by ideology on this matter. The Greens have made it perfectly clear from the outset that they had already made up their minds. Ms Bresnan came in here when this matter was first debated and opened up by saying, “The Greens believe that public hospital facilities should be in public hands.” It sounds fine, but let us just look at that. Ms Bresnan has made up her mind. The Labor Party, for whatever their reasons, have decided that they want to acquire Calvary. They have made it very clear that they want to run all the public hospital beds in the ACT. That is very clear.
The question that we are asking, that people in the community are asking, is: if the ACT government owns all the public hospital beds in the ACT, will we have a better public hospital service? And the jury is out on that. That is why the Canberra Liberals are asking the questions, delving into these issues and trying to collect together definitive information, not just about the finances, not just about how this budget treatment will look, but about whether or not we will end up with the best possible health services out of this.
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