Page 3756 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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Yesterday those opposite revealed exactly what they want out of this process. They want people to potentially be given jail sentences, they want people subpoenaed and they want a process where people will be threatened with perjury. This is not the process we need.
Further, and perhaps most egregiously, they have completely ignored the work of ACT Health staff in the past six months—work recognised by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards as outstanding. They were very willing to refer to excerpts from the original accreditation report that was, as Minister Rattenbury and I have acknowledged publicly on many occasions, very disappointing.
But where were they when the final report was received? Nowhere. There was no acknowledgement of the hard work of ACT Health staff. There was no acknowledgement of the fact that the report provided ACT Health with unconditional accreditation for three years and also recommended that a number of processes they saw in ACT Health should be put forward for national quality awards. Have they even read the report?
The opposition have relentlessly attacked ACT Health this year. They have not even taken a breath to celebrate and congratulate ACT Health staff on their considerable achievements. They have sought to play politics at every turn. And played it hard they have. They should be ashamed of not acknowledging the work of ACT Health staff. And make no mistake, Madam Assistant Speaker; they notice this. They notice when our politicians do not support their hard work, and they remember.
Of course, I respect their role as the opposition, but at some point they will have to face up to their responsibility and make it clear what they are offering to the people of Canberra. So far, I am left wondering. Their MO is to constantly and persistently talk down the ACT health system, to make baseless claims about a “toxic culture”. They can, of course, raise issues. Many of the issues raised are serious, and many of these issues will be followed up, particularly through the independent review that I have announced. But they have persistently claimed that a toxic culture exists, for which there is no basis in fact. This has been verified by an independent body as recently as July of this year. They are wreckers—complete wreckers.
For these reasons the government will not support this motion today. A board of inquiry is not warranted. I firmly believe it would not be of benefit to staff, nor to their patients. I instead move an amendment that recognises the work done to date and outlines the commitment I have already made to an independent review. I move:
Omit all text after “That this Assembly”, substitute:
“(1) notes:
(a) ACT Health has been granted full accreditation from the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) for a maximum period of three years to 30 July 2021;
(b) this accreditation result followed a disappointing preliminary accreditation report from the ACHS in March 2018;
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