Page 2361 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 2 August 2017
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MRS DUNNE: Minister, what discussions took place with expressions of interest respondents during the process of compiling the shortlist and then deciding on the successful tenderer, and were those discussions disclosed to other respondents to the respective processes?
MS FITZHARRIS: I will take the question on notice.
ACT Health—policy framework
MR WALL: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, I refer to your statement on policy reviews in the Assembly yesterday. You said, and I quote, “I have asked, in conjunction with Minister Rattenbury, as the Minister for Mental Health, for ACT Health to provide to us a fuller explanation of the range of policies that ACT Health is responsible for.” Minister, why do you not already understand the range of policies that ACT Health is responsible for?
MS FITZHARRIS: I believe that the context of the question was about the significant number of policies that ACT Health was responsible for in terms of strategic policy. Of course, as the minister responsible I am informed of those. There are many other clinical guidelines within ACT Health that go to support ACT Health and their accreditation process at the Canberra Hospital.
ACT Health will be providing me with a full list of those. It would not be normal practice for a minister to be aware of every single guideline and policy within each directorate, particularly one as complex and subject to specialist clinical guidelines, which I note should not be the purview of ministers. They should be the purview of clinicians.
MR WALL: Minister, did your incoming minister’s brief explain a range of policies that ACT Health is responsible for? If not, why not?
MS FITZHARRIS: Certainly my incoming government brief gave me a range of information about the activities and priorities of ACT Health. As I indicated in my response to the previous question, health is a large and complex portfolio. I think that in my response yesterday I spoke about both specific policy and specific guidelines. There are many within Health. They would not always be in the purview of ministers to be fully aware of.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, when will you and Minister Rattenbury receive this explanation, and will you table it in the Assembly on the first day after it is received?
MS FITZHARRIS: I have asked Health to provide me that advice as soon as possible. I have not determined a final date with them, but I expect to continue this discussion with them over the coming weeks.
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