Page 2023 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 7 June 2017
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they have received. Of course, the lack of reliable data is not helping any of this. It is not enough simply to spend more money without a comprehensive, well-informed strategic plan.
This government does this consistently; the tram is a prime example. It came up with the tram so that it could get into bed with the Greens so that it could stay in government. Money spent on a project without a strategic plan or even a business case does not stack up. Spending money in the health system without the foundation of a comprehensive strategic plan will result in little more than a hospital with no patients. It might make the government feel better but it will not make the patients feel better.
MS FITZHARRIS (Yerrabi—Minister for Health, Minister for Transport and City Services and Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research) (4.41): I thank Ms Cody. I join with Mrs Dunne in suggesting that she please go home now and look after herself, but I really thank her for bringing this motion into the Assembly today. As the Minister for Health—soon to be, officially on 1 July, minister for health and wellbeing—I am pleased to speak in the Assembly today in support of Ms Cody’s motion.
I note that, unfortunately, Mrs Dunne might have to leave the chamber, but in particular I note with disappointment two recurring themes from the Canberra Liberals: one is to continue to talk down our health system; the other is to continue with the failed argument of blaming everything on light rail. It is quite extraordinary to again see that Mrs Dunne cannot help herself, once again referencing light rail in a debate on our health system.
I want to take this opportunity—I know it is the wont of the opposition to talk down the health system and to talk only of the negative—to reference a number of pieces of correspondence I have received in the past few days. It is certainly the case that people write to me with issues they have confronted in the health system, as they write to all ministers in all governments in every country in the world. I also receive a number of emails and correspondence complimenting our health system and the staff who work extremely hard, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year in the health system. Many of them note to me that they make these comments because they know that the coverage that the health system gets is often a negative one.
Very recently, on the weekend, I was approached in the Canberra Centre food court by a lovely gentleman from one of our northern suburbs who saw me and came up to me to say that he just wanted to pass on how grateful he was. After 50 years of being very healthy, recently he had found himself needing some of the most significant types of treatment we might find in Canberra Hospital. He said to me, and he followed up with an email, that over the past 2½ years his health had deteriorated very much, that he found that cruel and was tested through and through by the services of our health services in the ACT. He said:
Before of this situation I had unclear idea how the system work and functioned so well. I was astonished to discovery how human resources works so sound in the health organization, so organize y caring for our health and wellbeing. As well I was so impressed with the equipment’s and the technology.”
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