Page 1306 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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MR CORBELL: Equally, we are investing in more capacity in our emergency departments. We are seeing significant improvements in waiting times in our emergency departments and we are building on that with investment in additional beds in the Canberra Hospital emergency department to give greater capacity. In the last month I have marked the commencement of a major upgrade of the Canberra Hospital emergency department that will deliver a 33 per cent increase in the number of beds in the emergency department. That is a really important investment.
So we are taking those steps, but we cannot do it alone. If the federal Liberal government continues to cut funding to our hospital systems, we will never be able to meet this growth in demand. Every jurisdiction around the country has the same problem. We need to see, in the federal budget next week, a commitment on the part of the federal Liberal government to reverse those cuts to our hospital system. (Time expired.)
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Lawder.
MS LAWDER: Minister, what are you doing to ensure Canberrans get value for money spent on hospital services?
MR CORBELL: We are continuing to make investments such as the one I outlined in my previous answer: expanding our emergency department by 33 per cent; investing in quality cancer care services at the new cancer facility at the Canberra Hospital; investing in effective, quality maternity services at the new Centenary Hospital for Women and Children; investing in a new community health centre in Gungahlin, upgrades in Tuggeranong and a new community health centre in Belconnen; investing in new adult mental health secure facilities; investing in new psychiatric facilities; and investing in the new University of Canberra public hospital. That is what the government are doing when it comes to health, but we need the commitment of the federal Liberal government. They cannot be allowed to get away with a $50 million a year cut—
Mr Hanson: On a point of order, Madam Speaker—
MADAM SPEAKER: A point of order. Stop the clock, please.
Mr Hanson: The question asked by Ms Lawder was specifically about value for money. The minister cannot keep standing up here, talking about federal funding that was never allocated in a budget in relation to a question about value for money. It has nothing to do with the question. It is about value for money.
MADAM SPEAKER: I think that is not a point of order. If you were going to make a point of order, you might refer to the standing orders. I think that was an argument that you did not quite like the answer that you were getting.
MR CORBELL: Value for money for taxpayers includes getting their fair share of commonwealth revenues for our hospital services. We have a federal Liberal government which has massively cut funding for health services here in the ACT. As a jurisdiction—
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