Page 4473 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 14 October 2009
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for consultation on this major proposal which, like the school closures fiasco, will also have a huge impact on the whole ACT community.
There has been extensive media coverage and commentary on most aspects of this deal, not the least being the proposed sale of Clare Holland House and the consultation that has accompanied the proposal from the beginning. Earlier this month the government announced a six-week consultation period for the $77 million proposal to purchase Calvary hospital. This announcement came at the very last minute after dealings had well and truly begun. This is the 11th hour, half-hearted attempt at consultation that this government is infamous for. We only have to look again at the school closures process in 2006, the legacy of which we are still dealing with as a community, or trying to deal with—unfortunately, we got gagged on that—to see a prime example of consultation as understood by this government.
Consultation obviously still means very different things to this government than it does to others in the community. Concerns have been raised for some months now—in fact, since the deal became public—by many sectors of the community, as Mr Coe just alluded to, including all stakeholders. The point must be made here today that this is a major change to the delivery of our health services and it comes at a very significant financial cost.
We know that until recently a lot of the dealings regarding the proposed sale have been done behind closed doors. In fact, we know that the government was urging the Little Company of Mary to sign a heads of agreement before the caretaker period began prior to the election last year. No mention at all was made of this proposed deal during the election—none whatsoever. This illustrates just how long this plan has been in place—over a year—without any consultation with the community. Again, many parallels can be drawn with the schools closure debacle in 2006. The government has failed thus far to put the case forward that this is indeed the best use of public funds. This sham consultation at the last minute, announced this month, confirms that the government will pursue this deal at all costs.
With regard to the inclusion of Clare Holland House in the deal, I heard a caller on talkback radio, one of the many over the past few months who have responded to this issue, in a very emotional plea this morning say that Clare Holland House had provided a wonderful service to him and his family in a very professional way and that he was quite distressed at the possibility that this wonderful service that is being delivered so well could possibly be run by an organisation that is not operating so well—that is, ACT Health.
The overwhelming feeling amongst the community, especially those who have had any experience with the service provided at Clare Holland House, is one of worry and deep concern. There is a distinct perception that questions remain unanswered and fears have not been allayed. This has been articulated very loudly and very clearly. In the Sunday Canberra Times of 16 August Shirley Sutton, one of the founding members and patron of the ACT Palliative Care Society, said she could not understand why the sale of the leasehold of the hospice was being included in the proposed deal between ACT Health and the Little Company of Mary for the purchase of Calvary hospital. While Ms Sutton was not commenting on behalf of the Palliative Care Society at that time, the society have publicly voiced their opposition to the sale.
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