Page 54 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2010
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MS GALLAGHER: We had a way forward. We had a way forward that had a beneficial outcome to our budget—
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MS GALLAGHER: that had a beneficial outcome to the people of the ACT—
Mr Hanson interjecting—
Mrs Dunne interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MS GALLAGHER: and had a beneficial outcome to the Little Company of Mary.
Mr Hargreaves: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mrs Dunne asked a supplementary and has not got the courtesy to listen. Could you please ask them to be quiet.
MR SPEAKER: Members, let us hear the answer from Ms Gallagher. Ms Gallagher, you might choose to answer the question and not attack the Liberal Party.
MS GALLAGHER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. But the reality is we need to have a fully functioning, modern, north side hospital, preferably within six years, with currently increased capacity by at least another 50 per cent, and we would prefer to do it with the support of Little Company of Mary.
They are, I guess, the directions of the discussions that we will have. That will not stop what we have already done. As Mr Hanson knows, there have been new operating theatres built there. There is a new intensive care theatre there. (Time expired.)
MR SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, a supplementary question?
MR SMYTH: Treasurer, did the advice that you received—or did you request any advice—include the accounting practices in other states, the requirements of the relevant accounting standard or the requirements of the Auditor-General on the reporting of this proposed sale?
MS GALLAGHER: Yes, I sought advice against all those things a number of times, including repeatedly when I received correspondence from people such as Terence Dwyer who wrote with a view on things. Yes, I have received all that advice. The advice from Treasury is that it cannot be dealt with in any other way in terms of how we manage our budget, including little footnotes: “By the way, yes, this has come off our bottom line for an asset that we don’t own. Sorry about that, because we don’t own the asset.” We cannot do footnotes to the financial statements, which are some of the recommendations that have come on this.
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