Mr LUGG - 1999-04-21
I have received many representations from Territorians about the fate of our hospitals in the wake of Cabinet’s recent decision on private management. Can the minister indicate what options are left for the government to ensure our hospitals are running efficiently while maintaining services for Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I too, will be making a statement later today. I hope that the level of interest that has been shown in Question Time from those opposite continues and they contribute to the statement. I have a further hope that they do so in a less emotional way than they’ve done in the past.
It is interesting to talk to staff. I’ve now spoken to some hundreds of them in staff forums across the Territory about where we go now. There is a lot of mischief out there, which is common to the way the matter was debated prior to Cabinet making a decision about the privatisation of our public hospitals. That misinformation continues.
I can inform members and those listening to this broadcast that, right from the outset, the previous minister for health, said that the only option that would be discounted by government is the option of the status quo. I can confirm that that approach continues. We are not going to look at reverting to the situation that’s there now. The second option that Cabinet has asked me to not investigate is the privatisation of management of our public hospitals. So there are 2 options out, which only leaves me with about 1000 permutations left, I guess.
I believe there is plenty of scope to improve our system. We will necessarily look at outsourcing. We will look at privatisation developments. We will look at other players coming to this place and providing services that we currently provide. We will look at a whole series of options. One thing of which I’m very confident is that the work that was put in through the expressions of interest exercise that we undertook demonstrated that there are some very, very big private providers out there who are very interested in coming to this place and dispensing services. Looking at their track record, I am very confident they will do so with great success.
Yes, Cabinet has discounted the option of privatising the management of our public hospitals. And yes, that does leave me with many, many options - in fact, possibly even more than I took to Cabinet, because what we looked at was our acute settings. I’m confident that we can look at community and acute settings. In some cases it’s a seamless service, and we are better placed to look at functions right across the community and acute sectors. I believe that we will have great scope for improving our hospitals in the Northern Territory, which is what it’s all about.
While I am on my feet, I will mention the adjournment speech of the member for Barkly last night. She called on me to confirm whether the hospital in Tennant Creek would now close. I thought this was a pretty bizarre style of doing business. She kicks off a rumour, waits for the rumour to get legs and then calls on me to quash the rumour. This is a really nonsensical method of debate. We have never talked about the closure of Tennant Creek Hospital.
If she is worried about the downturn in the economy of Tennant Creek - and she did mention that in her adjournment speech last night - perhaps she should look at some of the indicators. It’s a town that relies heavily on mining. She should look at why mining companies aren’t getting access to country. She should look at the Native Title Act. She should be going to Senator Crossin and others and talking about some of the issues of great importance to her rather than just running lies that this government is going to shut a hospital because the town may shrink.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I too, will be making a statement later today. I hope that the level of interest that has been shown in Question Time from those opposite continues and they contribute to the statement. I have a further hope that they do so in a less emotional way than they’ve done in the past.
It is interesting to talk to staff. I’ve now spoken to some hundreds of them in staff forums across the Territory about where we go now. There is a lot of mischief out there, which is common to the way the matter was debated prior to Cabinet making a decision about the privatisation of our public hospitals. That misinformation continues.
I can inform members and those listening to this broadcast that, right from the outset, the previous minister for health, said that the only option that would be discounted by government is the option of the status quo. I can confirm that that approach continues. We are not going to look at reverting to the situation that’s there now. The second option that Cabinet has asked me to not investigate is the privatisation of management of our public hospitals. So there are 2 options out, which only leaves me with about 1000 permutations left, I guess.
I believe there is plenty of scope to improve our system. We will necessarily look at outsourcing. We will look at privatisation developments. We will look at other players coming to this place and providing services that we currently provide. We will look at a whole series of options. One thing of which I’m very confident is that the work that was put in through the expressions of interest exercise that we undertook demonstrated that there are some very, very big private providers out there who are very interested in coming to this place and dispensing services. Looking at their track record, I am very confident they will do so with great success.
Yes, Cabinet has discounted the option of privatising the management of our public hospitals. And yes, that does leave me with many, many options - in fact, possibly even more than I took to Cabinet, because what we looked at was our acute settings. I’m confident that we can look at community and acute settings. In some cases it’s a seamless service, and we are better placed to look at functions right across the community and acute sectors. I believe that we will have great scope for improving our hospitals in the Northern Territory, which is what it’s all about.
While I am on my feet, I will mention the adjournment speech of the member for Barkly last night. She called on me to confirm whether the hospital in Tennant Creek would now close. I thought this was a pretty bizarre style of doing business. She kicks off a rumour, waits for the rumour to get legs and then calls on me to quash the rumour. This is a really nonsensical method of debate. We have never talked about the closure of Tennant Creek Hospital.
If she is worried about the downturn in the economy of Tennant Creek - and she did mention that in her adjournment speech last night - perhaps she should look at some of the indicators. It’s a town that relies heavily on mining. She should look at why mining companies aren’t getting access to country. She should look at the Native Title Act. She should be going to Senator Crossin and others and talking about some of the issues of great importance to her rather than just running lies that this government is going to shut a hospital because the town may shrink.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016