Page 141 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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review of obstetrics that found there were real problems and systemic reticence to deal with these problems? Do you remember that? Did Jeremy Hanson make up that clinical review? We would love to have the public interest disclosure review, because we know what that would say, and we know—I think we suspect—why Katy Gallagher is so desperate not to have that put forward. Communications with patients, swine flu death, the TB incident, Vesna Nedic again and the numerous others: am I making these up? The culture of bullying that we have seen? The refusal by the government to release the cultural surveys? Diabetes services? Were the doctors and the patients that complained on that occasion all agents of Jeremy Hanson as well, as is alleged by Jon Stanhope?
Mr Barr: I have never heard someone mention their own name so many times in one speech. It is extraordinary—talking about yourself, yes.
MR HANSON: The reason that I was talking about—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Order, members!
MR HANSON: The speeches that occurred in this place, from Jon Stanhope, from Katy Gallagher and Amanda Bresnan, on the motion of censure of the health minister did not refer to the diabolical state of the health system in certain areas, or Katy Gallagher’s performance, but were a vitriolic attack on me. I think that that needs to be measured, because if there had been a defence of the minister, if these people opposite and on the crossbench were able to defend the minister, they would have done so, instead of launching what was a remarkably vitriolic and ideologically driven attack.
Were the capital works delays a fiction as well? Was the failure by Katy Gallagher to actually deliver new hospital services to the north of Canberra, and the Calvary hospital fiasco that occurred, somehow a problem of the Liberal Party?
The minister needs to start taking responsibility, because what we saw yesterday in question time, what we have seen from her today, what we have seen from the Chief Minister and what we have seen from the Greens is that this is not Katy Gallagher’s fault. She is the minister, and yesterday when forced to in question time she said, “Yes, I am responsible; I accept responsibility.” But, when it comes down to it, she blames the Auditor-General: she does not understand what she is doing, according to Katy Gallagher, based on some of the responses yesterday. She blamed the doctors that complained. It is everybody’s fault except Katy Gallagher’s.
The question is: what would I do differently? Let me give you a clear example of what I would do. Firstly, when problems arise in the health system, I would not deny that there were problems and then attack the messenger. I would not then try and cover up what has occurred, and I would not blame everybody else when the reality of the situation is finally uncovered. I would be open and I would be honest.
Mr Stanhope: You’d resign, would you?
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Order!
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