Mr BELL - 1995-06-20
In view of the former Deputy Chief Minister's answer and the letter to which my question refers, it is surprising that the Northern Territory government cannot find enough money to build a decent hospital. I refer the minister to a letter from nurses at Royal Darwin Hospital bemoaning the alleged excessive government expenditure on the new Parliament House instead of on facilities for the hospital. I refer the minister to that letter which appeared in the NT News on 26 May 1995. I will not table the letter, as all members would have seen it.
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It is clear that morale among RDH nursing staff has plummeted to new lows. Their letter states that they 'sit on torn office chairs that are no longer considered safe and 'use trolleys that are old and shaky'. They point out that generally they have to look after patients with what they refer to as 'old and insufficient equipment'. What is the minister doing to use some of this GSP and to access some of the funds which the Treasurer says that we have ...
Mr Coulter: They have had a 40% increase in their budget in 4 years.
Mr BELL: ... to improve the nurses' morale and hospital amenities by addressing some of the very basic issues raised in this letter? A matter of concern to staff is when the minister last visited the Royal Darwin Hospital. Did he bother to talk to the nursing staff or does he simply frequent the cocktail circuit?
ANSWER
Ah, the sting in the tail, Mr Speaker! Firstly, I will answer the last part of the question relating to my last visit to Royal Darwin Hospital. Offhand, I cannot remember the day, but I believe it would have been in the last 4 to 6 weeks. The Royal Darwin Hospital is a large place and ...
Mr Bell: Obviously, the minister has to spend rather more time there, doesn't he?
Mr REED: I will pick up that interjection, Mr Speaker. I visit many places for which I have various portfolio responsibilities, but here we are dealing with a matter relating to health and community services. I dare say that I have visited as many places operated by the department - and independent health services and allied health services - as has any Minister for Health and Community Services, and certainly more than the member for MacDonnell has visited.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: I believe I am pretty well in touch with what is happening in the department, as have been my predecessors.
Whilst the member for MacDonnell was asking his question, the Treasurer indicated by way of interjection that the Territory's health budget has increased by 40% over the last 4 years. If members opposite can find a parallel with that anywhere in the country, in terms of a commitment by a government to its health services, I would like to see it. Only a month ago, members were told in this House of substantial increases - in excess of 17% - in the 1995-96 health budget. That is a real commitment to health services. It demonstrates this government's concern about providing health and community services to Territorians. It is not rhetoric, which is all we hear from the member for MacDonnell. It is a commitment that is backed up with cash.
Mr Ede: Where is it going?
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Mr REED: By his interjection, the Leader of the Opposition demonstrates that he does not get around the Northern Territory. If he did, he would see the advances that have occurred in communities across the Northern Territory. We are spending $1m a year on additional health clinics, some of which are in his electorate while others are in the electorates of the members for MacDonnell and Barkly.
Mr Bell: They are not particularly well ...
Mr REED: However, of course, Epenarra was a place that the member for Barkly had not visited for a few years. When I visited there, they asked, 'Maggie who?'
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr REED: If you moved around a little, had a talk to your constituents, saw the new health clinics and the additional staff, and gained an appreciation of the fact that the government will spend ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: ... $9m in the 1995-96 budget to increase substantially the services provided to Aboriginal Territorians, you would have a better understanding of precisely what is happening.
Mr Ede: It was the World Council of Churches that built Utopia because you did not provide funding.
Mr REED: I understand that you are a little biased in your approach, and that you fail to comprehend and recognise what is happening out there. You might even recognise that, through my efforts as Minister for Health and Community Services in dealing with federal health ministers over the last couple of years, I have been trying to obtain a commitment from the federal government to recognise the special needs in the Northern Territory. It is showing finally that it can play a part in the Northern Territory.
Graham Richardson came here over a year ago and was to direct $1000m extra towards Aboriginal health. What did he do? He put in about $25m. We heard the federal government's budget only a month or so ago. It was to add $103m to Aboriginal health over 4 years, but then we heard the whispered phrase - '$25m a year'. Over that same period, we will put in $640m extra.
Mr Ede: What are you going to do about ...
Mr REED: If you are talking about a commitment to health services, you should recognise where the commitment is coming from. The commitment is here in the Northern Territory. Over the last 4 years, this government has provided an additional 40% in funding to the Department of Health and Community Services. That is not rhetoric; it is fact.
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Page 650
It is clear that morale among RDH nursing staff has plummeted to new lows. Their letter states that they 'sit on torn office chairs that are no longer considered safe and 'use trolleys that are old and shaky'. They point out that generally they have to look after patients with what they refer to as 'old and insufficient equipment'. What is the minister doing to use some of this GSP and to access some of the funds which the Treasurer says that we have ...
Mr Coulter: They have had a 40% increase in their budget in 4 years.
Mr BELL: ... to improve the nurses' morale and hospital amenities by addressing some of the very basic issues raised in this letter? A matter of concern to staff is when the minister last visited the Royal Darwin Hospital. Did he bother to talk to the nursing staff or does he simply frequent the cocktail circuit?
ANSWER
Ah, the sting in the tail, Mr Speaker! Firstly, I will answer the last part of the question relating to my last visit to Royal Darwin Hospital. Offhand, I cannot remember the day, but I believe it would have been in the last 4 to 6 weeks. The Royal Darwin Hospital is a large place and ...
Mr Bell: Obviously, the minister has to spend rather more time there, doesn't he?
Mr REED: I will pick up that interjection, Mr Speaker. I visit many places for which I have various portfolio responsibilities, but here we are dealing with a matter relating to health and community services. I dare say that I have visited as many places operated by the department - and independent health services and allied health services - as has any Minister for Health and Community Services, and certainly more than the member for MacDonnell has visited.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: I believe I am pretty well in touch with what is happening in the department, as have been my predecessors.
Whilst the member for MacDonnell was asking his question, the Treasurer indicated by way of interjection that the Territory's health budget has increased by 40% over the last 4 years. If members opposite can find a parallel with that anywhere in the country, in terms of a commitment by a government to its health services, I would like to see it. Only a month ago, members were told in this House of substantial increases - in excess of 17% - in the 1995-96 health budget. That is a real commitment to health services. It demonstrates this government's concern about providing health and community services to Territorians. It is not rhetoric, which is all we hear from the member for MacDonnell. It is a commitment that is backed up with cash.
Mr Ede: Where is it going?
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Mr REED: By his interjection, the Leader of the Opposition demonstrates that he does not get around the Northern Territory. If he did, he would see the advances that have occurred in communities across the Northern Territory. We are spending $1m a year on additional health clinics, some of which are in his electorate while others are in the electorates of the members for MacDonnell and Barkly.
Mr Bell: They are not particularly well ...
Mr REED: However, of course, Epenarra was a place that the member for Barkly had not visited for a few years. When I visited there, they asked, 'Maggie who?'
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr REED: If you moved around a little, had a talk to your constituents, saw the new health clinics and the additional staff, and gained an appreciation of the fact that the government will spend ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: ... $9m in the 1995-96 budget to increase substantially the services provided to Aboriginal Territorians, you would have a better understanding of precisely what is happening.
Mr Ede: It was the World Council of Churches that built Utopia because you did not provide funding.
Mr REED: I understand that you are a little biased in your approach, and that you fail to comprehend and recognise what is happening out there. You might even recognise that, through my efforts as Minister for Health and Community Services in dealing with federal health ministers over the last couple of years, I have been trying to obtain a commitment from the federal government to recognise the special needs in the Northern Territory. It is showing finally that it can play a part in the Northern Territory.
Graham Richardson came here over a year ago and was to direct $1000m extra towards Aboriginal health. What did he do? He put in about $25m. We heard the federal government's budget only a month or so ago. It was to add $103m to Aboriginal health over 4 years, but then we heard the whispered phrase - '$25m a year'. Over that same period, we will put in $640m extra.
Mr Ede: What are you going to do about ...
Mr REED: If you are talking about a commitment to health services, you should recognise where the commitment is coming from. The commitment is here in the Northern Territory. Over the last 4 years, this government has provided an additional 40% in funding to the Department of Health and Community Services. That is not rhetoric; it is fact.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016