Mr BAILEY - 1996-05-22
From the internal document that he tabled yesterday, Territorians learned for the first time that the incompetence of this Country Liberal Party administration has cost them tens of millions of dollars in revenue lost from the federal government. In fact, the report estimates that the Territory has lost up to $30m each year for goodness knows how long because of the department's 'inability to satisfy mandatory Commonwealth and other external agency reporting requirements', resulting in 'loss of revenue through inaccurate and incomplete information for Medicare Agreement negotiations and Grants Commission submissions, and ability to better substantiate our unique position'. I quote these comments from his own document. The government's own advisers have exposed this fiasco, and all Territorians now know that it is the feeble inefficiency of the Country Liberal Party government that has failed to secure deserved Commonwealth funding.
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Will the minister tell all Territorians who are sick or dying, those people enduring pain while they wait months for operations, those people spending hours in waiting rooms to see a doctor or a nurse, and the doctors and nurses who are working 100 hours each week, why he has allowed more than $100m of desperately needed federal government money to slip through his fingers?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I will ignore some of the unsubstantiated nonsense that the honourable member included with his question. He knows already the answer to the core of his question. He is a member of the Public Accounts Committee which heard it from the horse's mouth, so to speak, from none other than the chairman of the Commonwealth Grants Commission - an independent person. The member for Wanguri has heard the arguments in this parliament over the last 10 months about this issue. It is no secret. No computer is needed to show how much money is being missed out on. The Grants Commission chairman told him that it was $27m, calculated on a per-capita basis, not taking into account the very serious health status of Aboriginal Territorians living in the remote areas - Aboriginal Territorians to whom I had thought the member for Wanguri might have felt some commitment. He shakes his head - 'no'. He did not interject, but he shook his head. He does not have a commitment.
Members have heard about this from me in this Chamber before. There is no mystery about this $27m. In fact, it is probably threefold, if the Aboriginal health status is taken into consideration. The member for Arnhem smiles and smirks over this, but they are mainly his constituents and they have very serious health problems.
Why was that quantified $27m, assessed by the chairman of the Grants Commission, not taken up? The member for Wanguri knows. He heard it from the same gentleman in the same PAC hearing. That gentleman was told to ignore it. Who by? Labor, Labor, Labor - that is who told him to ignore it. His federal masters told him to ignore it.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr FINCH: The member for Wanguri need not come in here with his holier-than-thou questions, as if some computer would fix this problem. I will tell him how it will be fixed, and fixed very easily. I spent 9 months trying to speak with Carmen about this matter. The member for Nhulunbuy knows about Carmen. One day you will come good. Carmen Lawrence was protected by iron bars. It was impossible to talk with her about these issues. I wrote to her. I offered to travel to Perth or Canberra - I did not care where the meeting took place. I explained that I needed to meet her to talk with her about this $27m, among other matters. In that period of 9 months, I received not a word in response from her.
Here we are today, 3 months into a new federal government and we are met with the spirit of cooperation. I have had 4 face-to-face meetings with Dr Michael Wooldridge, a man who understands the Territory, understands matters Aboriginal and understands Aboriginal health. It is through him that we will obtain access to Medicare because ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
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Mr FINCH: ... a political directive for the Grants Commission to ignore the $27m. It is very easy. No computer is needed. Members opposite know it, and I will continue to remind them and their Labor masters in Canberra about it. Fortunately, they are now off the scene altogether.
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Page 1401
Will the minister tell all Territorians who are sick or dying, those people enduring pain while they wait months for operations, those people spending hours in waiting rooms to see a doctor or a nurse, and the doctors and nurses who are working 100 hours each week, why he has allowed more than $100m of desperately needed federal government money to slip through his fingers?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I will ignore some of the unsubstantiated nonsense that the honourable member included with his question. He knows already the answer to the core of his question. He is a member of the Public Accounts Committee which heard it from the horse's mouth, so to speak, from none other than the chairman of the Commonwealth Grants Commission - an independent person. The member for Wanguri has heard the arguments in this parliament over the last 10 months about this issue. It is no secret. No computer is needed to show how much money is being missed out on. The Grants Commission chairman told him that it was $27m, calculated on a per-capita basis, not taking into account the very serious health status of Aboriginal Territorians living in the remote areas - Aboriginal Territorians to whom I had thought the member for Wanguri might have felt some commitment. He shakes his head - 'no'. He did not interject, but he shook his head. He does not have a commitment.
Members have heard about this from me in this Chamber before. There is no mystery about this $27m. In fact, it is probably threefold, if the Aboriginal health status is taken into consideration. The member for Arnhem smiles and smirks over this, but they are mainly his constituents and they have very serious health problems.
Why was that quantified $27m, assessed by the chairman of the Grants Commission, not taken up? The member for Wanguri knows. He heard it from the same gentleman in the same PAC hearing. That gentleman was told to ignore it. Who by? Labor, Labor, Labor - that is who told him to ignore it. His federal masters told him to ignore it.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr FINCH: The member for Wanguri need not come in here with his holier-than-thou questions, as if some computer would fix this problem. I will tell him how it will be fixed, and fixed very easily. I spent 9 months trying to speak with Carmen about this matter. The member for Nhulunbuy knows about Carmen. One day you will come good. Carmen Lawrence was protected by iron bars. It was impossible to talk with her about these issues. I wrote to her. I offered to travel to Perth or Canberra - I did not care where the meeting took place. I explained that I needed to meet her to talk with her about this $27m, among other matters. In that period of 9 months, I received not a word in response from her.
Here we are today, 3 months into a new federal government and we are met with the spirit of cooperation. I have had 4 face-to-face meetings with Dr Michael Wooldridge, a man who understands the Territory, understands matters Aboriginal and understands Aboriginal health. It is through him that we will obtain access to Medicare because ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
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Mr FINCH: ... a political directive for the Grants Commission to ignore the $27m. It is very easy. No computer is needed. Members opposite know it, and I will continue to remind them and their Labor masters in Canberra about it. Fortunately, they are now off the scene altogether.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016