Page 3158 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 20 August 2019
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MS CHEYNE: Minister, why is it important that a broad range of Canberrans have the opportunity to have their say on government policy?
MR BARR: There certainly is a risk that the overwhelming majority of Canberrans can have their voices crowded out by the loudest voices or the usual suspects. So it is important for the government to consult widely and to seek input from as many Canberrans as possible. This will give us a clearer sense of community priorities.
For example, we know through that broader community engagement that the majority of Canberrans want to see the ACT government continue to advocate for a repeal of the commonwealth’s legislative bar on the territories legislating on voluntary assisted dying—overturning the Andrews bill. We know that an overwhelming majority of Canberrans supported marriage equality. We know that an overwhelming majority of Canberrans support the government’s decision to ban greyhound racing in the territory. We know that an overwhelming majority of Canberrans want to see the ACT continue to show leadership in combating climate change. We know that a majority of Canberrans support the government’s delivery of the first stage of the light rail network.
So we know through this deeper engagement how Canberrans feel about important issues in our community and we know that we can continue with confidence to pursue the issues that the majority of Canberrans want us to continue to pursue. This provides valuable information in between our four-yearly democratic cycle.
Hospitals—emergency department performance
MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, how did the Canberra Hospital and Calvary hospital public emergency departments perform against their targets in the fourth quarter of 2018-19?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Parton for the question. I will take that one on notice.
MR PARTON: Minister, how are our emergency departments tracking against their targets in the first quarter of 2019-20?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: Today is 20 August. The first quarter of 2019-20 is not yet complete.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, are you satisfied that enough is being done to ensure that the ACT will not continue to have the worst performance in emergency department waiting times?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mrs Dunne for the supplementary question. It is clear that in a number of triage categories the emergency department does not have the performance that we would like to see. As I have spoken about a number of times in this place, we are making significant investments in capacity. Of course, we have recently expanded the Canberra Hospital emergency department. We have invested in
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