Page 3058 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 23 September 2014
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In closing, I believe it is a matter of public importance that the government gets its healthcare priorities right. It is a complex area. It has many overlaps with other social policies, but it is proven that up-front expenditure saves us money and saves the health of our community in the long term. The ACT Greens would like to see more investment in early intervention and prevention programs, both locally and federally.
Of course, this is a significant challenge, given that we already have pressure on our acute systems. So that will be a struggle. But we need to make sure that we continue to prioritise those early interventions. Given the growth we have seen in health expenditure in recent years, we cannot always keep growing at that rate. We see the indicators of chronic disease out there. We know that we need to make these investments now so that, in years to come, budgets and future taxpayers can afford to have a high quality health system that is not overburdened by what are preventable conditions.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.11): Firstly I would like to thank Mr Smyth for bringing this matter before the Assembly today, and I would like to reiterate the opposition’s priority towards health. There are many priorities that we face in the ACT, and there would be many priorities that we would face in government. Let me make it very clear that there would be no higher priority than the health of the citizens of the ACT and delivering on providing the best health system in Australia.
Turning to priorities, let me read a recent email that was sent from a constituent on 18 September to the Chief Minister:
Dear Ms Gallagher
With reference to the article in the Canberra Times (date 18/9/2014) regarding the current state of the Canberra … Hospital compounded with my own recent experiences at both Canberra and Calvary Hospitals. How in the name of good fiscal management can you waste taxpayers money on a project which is only 12kms long and will only benefit a small minority of the Canberra populous when the infrastructure and maintenance regimes of our hospitals are in such poor state.
Thank God the excellent staff of these two institutions are so dedicated and committed to provide the best health care they can in somewhat trying circumstances.
Get your priorities right and please stop pandering to the Greens or you and your lack lustre government may not be in power next election.
Yours in disgust ...
I will leave out the name of that constituent. Certainly, that represents the view of many Canberrans that I speak to on a regular basis. When I am out in the community there are people scratching their heads and saying to me, “Why is it that I wait so long in the emergency department? Why is it that the state of our hospital system is one where you’ve got senior clinicians worried that it is unsafe because it is so full, when
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