Page 3114 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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Ms Fitzharris talked about the $23 million that has been put into a new facility at our emergency department. I certainly welcome that. I do. But it needs to be pointed out that that $23 million is actually taken out of the $41 million that was allocated in our budget a number of years ago all for the rebuild of the tower block. Ms Gallagher put $41 million into the budget and said, “Let’s rebuild the tower block.” That work was ongoing for design and so on. That money was taken out.
That project to rebuild the tower block, the $800 million tower block was a priority before light rail came on the scene. I make that very clear. That was the government’s number one infrastructure priority, the $800 million to go on the tower block before light rail. But then light rail came on the scene and it went, disappeared into the ether. All we hear about that project now are concerns from people who have been involved in the tendering for some of the design work. I know significant complaints have been made about the way that process was done. Complaints have been made to me and that has run out in the media as well.
That $23 million that has been invested is a stopgap. It is a bandaid solution. Indeed, the head of ED at the Canberra Hospital made it very clear that this should not be seen as a long-term solution, and it is not. This government is not thinking long term about health; it is only thinking long term about the tram.
Recently we saw that most evidently when we had significant debate about this in the Assembly about this minister—as Ms Fitzharris calls him, “this minister, Simon Corbell”—having cut 60 beds. The promise, the plan, was for a 200-bed subacute facility in Belconnen at the University of Canberra hospital, and this minister, Simon Corbell, has cut 60 beds from that plan.
We heard the extraordinary narrative coming out of this minister where he tried to say that those beds still existed and, in fact, there were more beds. He was counting gym equipment and occupational therapy pools as hospital beds. It was disingenuous. The public are not that stupid. Clearly, his party are not that stupid because they have seen what this minister is capable of in terms of doublespeak, and they have dumped him, just as the electorate nearly did at the last election.
In regard to the bush healing farm for which, in 2007, $10.8 million was allocated, what has happened? Where is the work on the bush healing farm that was promised? We heard so much in this place about the bush healing farm. We were lectured about the bush healing farm for hours by Mr Stanhope, by Ms Gallagher. Where is it? Maybe when she closes the debate Ms Fitzharris can tell us where the bush healing farm is and why the money was allocated in 2007 and we still do not have that facility here in the ACT.
That is not atypical. We have had just about every health project running over budget and running over time—$300,000 over budget for the mental health assessment unit. The adult mental health inpatient facility was another one. With regard to the central sterilising service, again $17.2 million was allocated for the relocation, the renewal, the rebuild of that—gone, gone out of the budget. There are higher priorities somewhere else—solar panels somewhere or light rail, no doubt.
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