Page 1923 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2011
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ACT. There are other inquiries into the management of the health system that show systemic issues of significant concern. From the “10-year war” that has been raging in obstetrics to the denial and then discovery of bullying, it seems like they are just the tip of the iceberg.
Prompted by allegations of surgery waiting list manipulations, and many other issues of mismanagement ably brought to light by my colleague Jeremy Hanson, we successfully pushed for an Auditor-General audit of ACT Health’s management of surgery lists with tangible recommendations that the government could not help but accept. There were other fights we had to have. But we had them, and we won.
Firm in the belief that all students have the right to a quality education and choice, we fought for the school community’s rights in Minister Barr’s efficiency dividend cuts last year and forced the minister to backflip on cuts to support for visually and hearing impaired students. Only yesterday the Canberra Liberals were successful in a motion calling on the executive to commission an inquiry by the ICRC into the environmental, social and economic benefits and opportunities for secondary water uses in the territory.
These are some of the examples of the difference in approach between the ACT Labor government and a government I would lead. We understand why the government want us to release all our election policies early. That is where they get all their best material from. Smaller class sizes still must smart for Mr Barr, who we know is against them.
The most recent examples are in this budget that was presented on Tuesday. There is the money in support of basic TAMS services, due to the tireless work of my colleagues representing local communities here and in the community themselves—no better personified than through Alistair Coe. Literally years ago my colleagues and I called for restraint in those areas, which were obvious managerial targets—areas like advertising, travel and stationery budgets, which, I recall Mr Smyth discovering, included the departments using millions of sheets of paper a year.
The government have now discovered this. It is a mark of the character of the government that they looked first to slash support for kids with disabilities before they looked at cutting their business class travel or their multimillion dollar ad budgets. Time after time we see the front line and the families taking the hit for the fat cats and the bureaucrats.
It is small comfort when we look at what the government wants all this money for. The single biggest new spend in this budget, the thing that is more important than anything else we could do, is a thumping new office building for Jon Stanhope and Katy Gallagher. This is possibly the most arrogant statement of hubris this government has ever made—and it is not a government known for its modesty. By far the biggest item in this budget is a gigantic monument of an office block for Jon Stanhope and Katy Gallagher—the $432 million dollar new government office. This is the edifice of ego, the monument of megalomania, the palais de Stanhope.
At a time when many families are facing serious issues keeping their homes, Jon has decided he needs to move into a $432 million new one. When office space lies empty
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