Page 124 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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MR SPEAKER: Ms Gallagher, one moment please. Stop the clocks. Members, I have now asked repeatedly for Ms Gallagher to be heard in silence. The next member who interjects will be warned, to join Mr Hanson.
MS GALLAGHER: That is what members of the community are interested in hearing too. It is all very easy to get up and whinge and moan and criticise, but when it comes to actually having an idea of your own, having a think about what you would do, providing a constructive role in the reform of the health system that is underway—and there are plenty of opportunities to do that—Mr Hanson has chosen to do the opposite. He has chosen not to play a constructive role and not to have an idea. It is all too easy for Mr Hanson to ignore the complexities, the issues, the demand, the workforce—all of the components that make up the health system—and just point the finger at somebody else.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the opposition) (10.30): I think in the latter part of Ms Gallagher’s speech she touched on what the community wants. The community wants a health system that is serving them much better than the current health system. The community wants elective surgery waiting lists that are not double the national average. If you look at what the community wants, the community wants better health services. They are not getting it from this minister.
There are a range of reasons why this censure should be supported today. First and foremost is the poor performance of the ACT health system under the leadership of Katy Gallagher. We can look at a whole range of measures but when we look at elective surgery, for instance, we see that we are worse than New South Wales. Under Katy Gallagher, the system for elective surgery is performing worse than the one in New South Wales.
We do get used to the ACT Labor Party saying, “At least we are not quite as bad as New South Wales.” On a number of measures, you are worse. The performance is worse. So we can look at the terrible performance. The community is telling us, the community is saying to us, “There are all these problems in health and Katy Gallagher does not seem to have the answers. She always seems to blame someone else. She seems to cover things up.”
We will get to the bullying and the way that was handled, but she does not seem to have the answers. Surely after five years in the job she should have some idea of how to fix some of these problems, but she has not. And it is extraordinary that the minister says, “We are having the same motion again.” We are not. Yes, there are some elements, because it has been a long litany. This censure motion could have been a lot longer. There is only so much that you can actually include.
But let us look at what is actually new. She is effectively conceding the point that the health system is not doing very well. “But let us not talk about that.” What is new here? We have got an Auditor-General’s report that is damning, that confirms that what Katy Gallagher was telling us on elective surgery is wrong.
We have the head of the VMOs in the ACT calling for the minister’s resignation. That is a rare thing. That is a rare thing, for the head of a professional body to be calling for
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