Mr BALCH - 1998-11-26
Yesterday, Labor’s member for Arafura cast aspersions on a professional company, Kwikasair, implicating that company in an incident of maggots found in the Tennant Creek Hospital laundry. The minister said he would follow up the member’s accusations. Can he now tell us what the truth is?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, yesterday I was taken by surprise by the serious allegations the member for Arafura made against a private company, Kwikasair, in terms of their handling of a contract with soiled laundry from Tennant Creek Hospital to Alice Springs Hospital. He used that example to show that the private company was derelict in that particular contract and then extrapolated that example to suggest to Territorians that private companies per se are derelict in handling public sector work.
The first thing I would say is that I sincerely believe the member for Arafura should apologise to Kwikasair. From the inquiries I have made that company has handled its contract well, a contract that has been in place since 1992. I am not sure if that company has had the contract for the whole period, but it has been doing the contract since 1994.
The contract is essentially that Tennant Creek Public Hospital’s dirty hospital laundry is assembled and that Kwikasair has the contract to move that dirty laundry in a sealed, steel container from Tennant Creek Public Hospital to Alice Springs Public Hospital where it is laundered. The contract then requires Kwikasair to pick up the clean laundry in a sealed, steel container and move it back to Tennant Creek Hospital.
The decision to outsource the laundry from Tennant Creek was made in 1991. The contract began in 1992. I understand from Tennant Creek Public Hospital that they are, and always have been, happy with the contract. They have better storage and facility in terms of the amount of laundry they can hold at Tennant Creek Hospital as their laundry wasn’t capable of doing the job.
Over that period there has been one official complaint, I understand, regarding maggot infestation of that laundry. There may have been other occasions, but certainly I am only aware of one. Logic would tell you that if the maggot infestation occurred, it would most likely have occurred at Tennant Creek Public Hospital in the containers the laundry was in prior to the contractor entering into his part of the contract and picking up the sealed, steel container. To suggest that that contractor was in any way shape or form liable is totally irresponsible and the Labor Party should apologise to Kwikasair. Again, to imply it is an example of private sector work is a scurrilous accusation.
He also made the point that a number of people at Tennant Creek lost their jobs as a result of the outsourcing. I can confirm that no one lost their jobs and, again, it is just an example of the misinformation that the Labor Party is peddling.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, yesterday I was taken by surprise by the serious allegations the member for Arafura made against a private company, Kwikasair, in terms of their handling of a contract with soiled laundry from Tennant Creek Hospital to Alice Springs Hospital. He used that example to show that the private company was derelict in that particular contract and then extrapolated that example to suggest to Territorians that private companies per se are derelict in handling public sector work.
The first thing I would say is that I sincerely believe the member for Arafura should apologise to Kwikasair. From the inquiries I have made that company has handled its contract well, a contract that has been in place since 1992. I am not sure if that company has had the contract for the whole period, but it has been doing the contract since 1994.
The contract is essentially that Tennant Creek Public Hospital’s dirty hospital laundry is assembled and that Kwikasair has the contract to move that dirty laundry in a sealed, steel container from Tennant Creek Public Hospital to Alice Springs Public Hospital where it is laundered. The contract then requires Kwikasair to pick up the clean laundry in a sealed, steel container and move it back to Tennant Creek Hospital.
The decision to outsource the laundry from Tennant Creek was made in 1991. The contract began in 1992. I understand from Tennant Creek Public Hospital that they are, and always have been, happy with the contract. They have better storage and facility in terms of the amount of laundry they can hold at Tennant Creek Hospital as their laundry wasn’t capable of doing the job.
Over that period there has been one official complaint, I understand, regarding maggot infestation of that laundry. There may have been other occasions, but certainly I am only aware of one. Logic would tell you that if the maggot infestation occurred, it would most likely have occurred at Tennant Creek Public Hospital in the containers the laundry was in prior to the contractor entering into his part of the contract and picking up the sealed, steel container. To suggest that that contractor was in any way shape or form liable is totally irresponsible and the Labor Party should apologise to Kwikasair. Again, to imply it is an example of private sector work is a scurrilous accusation.
He also made the point that a number of people at Tennant Creek lost their jobs as a result of the outsourcing. I can confirm that no one lost their jobs and, again, it is just an example of the misinformation that the Labor Party is peddling.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016