Page 3247 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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MS ORR (Yerrabi) (12.03), in reply: I would like to thank the majority of the members for what was a very positive and encouraging debate. I think our multicultural communities would be very encouraged to hear the support that is coming from the Assembly.
I acknowledge that the opposition’s comments were perhaps not as positive as we might have hoped, but if I can be quite frank, Madam Assistant Speaker, I was almost expecting that, given that every time the government, and particularly backbenchers, move something that is a good idea, we hear the same lines from the opposition about how terrible we are; yet they still vote for the motion.
In closing, I thank members today for what was a positive debate. I am looking forward to moving this project along, because it has come about after requests and feedback from the multicultural community, and we do work to deliver for them.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Sitting suspended from 12.04 to 2 pm.
Questions without notice
Centenary Hospital for Women and Children—planning
MR COE: My question is to the Minister for Health. How much of the expenditure on expanding the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children is due to the fact that the ACT government did not plan for it properly in the first place?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The expenditure on the expansion of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children is an investment in the future of Centenary hospital. It has nothing to do with its previous development.
MR COE: Minister, why did the government build the Centenary hospital with fewer beds than the building it replaced?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Coe for the question. I am not going to take the premise of the question as read, given the record of the opposition’s accuracy in asking its questions. What I can is that the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children is an excellent service and its expansion will be welcomed by the community.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, what lessons has ACT Health learnt from the problems with the maternity hospital, and how can they apply that to planning future projects?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mrs Dunne for the supplementary. Obviously, Health Services are learning lessons all the time about the delivery of their complex services. I am not entirely sure what aspect of the delivery of maternity services Mrs Dunne is referring to, but Canberra Health Services is learning lessons all the time about delivery of services in a wide range of ways. Of course, there is a
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