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2330 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill; Appropriation Bill 31 Oct 2012 Health payroll bungle will be documented as the worst case of government mismanagement and the very saddest example of total incompetence, denial and deceit the state has ever had the misfortune to wear and bear. We owe it to our fellow Queenslanders to reveal the truth behind this total botch-up, which has cost this state $1.2 billion. Today, the persistence of our health minister and this committee has enabled a gigantic step to be taken through the production of records documenting this catastrophic blunder. There are a number of initiatives outlined in the budget that will have a positive effect on my constituents. Firstly, I welcome the facilitation of access to national parks. What purpose do parks serve if, through being inaccessible and badly managed, they merely serve to become havens for feral and weed pests? I agree wholeheartedly that we must safeguard our parks to preserve natural habitats for flora and fauna. This is achieved through sound management, consideration for each park’s unique biodiversity and an adherence to conservation legislation, not through closure and isolation. This government displays its commitment to health by, among other things, providing multiple opportunities for sport and recreation. In the Barron River electorate, we have already received numerous requests and opportunities to take advantage of the Get in the Game initiative—ranging from requests from small sporting clubs to community organisations encouraging Indigenous youth to participate in diversionary team sporting activities. I thank the Minister for National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing for these very welcome initiatives. I also thank the minister for those initiatives relating to the racing industry, which plays and has always played a huge role in the lives of the people in North Queensland and in the economy of North Queensland, which has suffered a downturn in recent years under a Labor government. Additional prize money will provide a very welcome boost to a flagging industry that has had a significant effect on the Cairns economy throughout our history. I embrace the Your Life Your Choice trial as it provides an opportunity for empowerment for the many disabled constituents of my electorate and their carers. This trial has been well received. I also welcome the funding allocation for aids and equipment for people with a disability under 65 years and for Indigenous people with a disability under 50 years. During the hearing I made an inquiry of the Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services regarding trials pertaining to the support of vulnerable children and families. As a consequence I learned of the First Response project, a joint venture between Child Safety and the UnitingCare Community. As the father of four daughters, I have a great empathy and concern for children less fortunate than my own. In that regard I am very interested in the outcome of this trial and intend to maintain close contact with UCC. In terms of Health funding, I particularly welcome those initiatives relating to the expansion of health facilities and improved access to emergency and specialist care. Although Cairns Base Hospital is not physically situated in my electorate, it is the area’s main regional health facility. That hospital services the needs of all of my constituents and it has benefited tremendously from the Newman government’s commitment to restore local health boards and empower them to run their services. As a result, we have seen significant improvements in service provision, increased confidence and additional funding to achieve tier 1 status for the Cairns Base Hospital. Access to specialist health care is a priority throughout my electorate, with constituents hitherto being forced to travel to Brisbane to receive care. I commend this government’s pledge to provide our local health service with funding to the tune of $15 million over four years. (Time expired) Mr HATHAWAY (Townsville—LNP) (10.36 pm): As a member of the Health and Community Services Committee I rise to speak in support of our report No. 12. I also would like to thank the Treasurer and the relevant portfolio ministers for the opportunity to review the Appropriation Bill and their insight into their relevant expenditure and strategy for their department across the estimates. I must admit to having some apprehension on my first budget review and estimates process. Indeed, I was daunted by the prospect of trying to understand the complexities of the budget set against the fiscal constraints that face this government owing to Labor’s legacy of addiction to debt and deficit. It is disappointing—although not unsurprising—that we were unable as a committee to produce a unanimous report without a statement of reservation. Here was an opportunity for the opposition committee members to right their copybook and provide non-partisan input into a once-in-a-generation change for Queensland—a change that Queenslanders gave a mandate for in March of this year. All opposition member attendees to the estimates committee bar one were former members and/or cabinet ministers of the previous administration. I note with regret that, by their questions, they reaffirmed their support for the legacy left by an absent Bligh and her ‘Boy Wonder’ Treasurer. In doing so they should be forever indelibly marked in the records of this House by the pox that was their terminal gift to Queensland. Despite my disappointment at this lost opportunity, the estimates hearing process confirmed my trust in the executive for the redirection of Queensland’s economy and its fiscal repair to get our state back on track and back in the black. It also gave me an insight into the complexity of government, particularly when trying to stabilise debt, arrest interest payments, live within your means and yet still deliver the necessary services that Queenslanders expect and deserve.
31 Oct 2012 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill; Appropriation Bill 2331 I now turn briefly to some of the portfolio areas examined by the committee. Although the opposition members tried to lead the committee with their scrutiny of pointless political gimmicks and spurious rabbit holes of Minister Dickson’s official attendance engagements, they missed totally the fact that it was a nascent Newman government within the first weeks—indeed, within 18 days of the election—that announced the cancellation of the previous government’s self-indulgent largess of government corporate boxes and event ticketing. They missed Minister Dickson, in a response to my question, outline a commitment of an additional $4 million to provide an extra 80 country race meetings through new country racing programs, which scheduled extra race meetings for towns and regions such as Roma, Innisfail and Mareeba, to name a few. They missed his preamble on the government’s $18 million commitment to sport of Get in the Game which already has budding players and sports clubs from Townsville and North Queensland lining up for the three elements of the program. They missed Minister Dickson’s response to another question with regard to capital investment in our national parks to improve access and utility to all Queenslanders such as the Under the Radar cross country mountain bike course in Cape Pallarenda Conservation Park. I note Minister Elmes’s response to my question on the review of AMPs. The review of AMPs and their efficacy is long overdue and has been well received in the 19 Indigenous communities in which they operate. This review is clearly welcomed by the Palm Island community who are simply seeking to have ownership of their destiny and the rules which they live under. While I welcome the Leader of the Opposition’s belated and almost grudging compliance with a motion of this House to table the secret cabinet documents pertaining to the Health payroll fiasco, it would have been of far greater utility to the minister and his department, and also, might I add, to our committee’s scrutiny of the Health budget, had this been made available when first asked for back in June of this year. I note for the record the $97 million provision for a doubling of the patient travel subsidy. This will benefit many North Queenslanders who have to travel for medical services and procedures taken for granted in the south-east. I was likewise reassured by the minister’s ongoing support for the paediatric intensive care unit for Townsville championed for so strongly by my northern colleagues and me. I welcome Minister Davis’s response to a question on the Elderly Parent Carer Innovation Trial as a number of my constituents in Townsville are elderly parents caring for one of their children with a disability. In conclusion, I would like to thank my fellow committee members and in particular the chair, the member for Redlands, the secretariat, ministers and their department officers for their efforts as I stepped through my first estimates. I commend the committee’s report to the House. Mr MULHERIN (Mackay—ALP) (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (10.41 pm): I rise to speak on the report of the Health and Community Services Committee. We do not believe the time allocated to the Minister for National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing was sufficient to properly examine the department’s $380 million budget. The limited amount of time available was further squandered by the minister’s stunts. It is extremely disappointing that the minister did not respect the intent of the estimates process. The minister sought to abuse the estimates hearing by demanding the opposition provide information to him. The minister then refused to furnish the committee with details of what sporting events he and his assistant minister have attended in corporate boxes and who extended the invitation. In addition, the minister repeatedly refused to rule out the reintroduction of government corporate boxes despite the Premier’s stated intention to not reintroduce government corporate boxes. We are disheartened that the minister was unable or unwilling to shed any light on his plans for the racing industry. This was once again brought about partly by the limited amount of time allocated for questioning and partly by the minister’s approach of dodging questions. Unfortunately the nongovernment members of the committee express reservations as to the expenditure in the racing portfolio given so little information has been provided. Under questioning the minister was unable to confirm during the hearing if Racing Queensland’s appointment of Mr Allan Reardon to the position of Director of Steward Development had received government approval. The non-government members of the committee find it concerning that neither the minister, his chief-of-staff, nor departmental officers were able to answer this question during the hearing considering the directive issued after the election that Racing Queensland must obtain government approval before employing, engaging or terminating staff. The minister elected to take the question on notice. When the answer was returned to the opposition four days after the hearing it was revealed that the government did provide approval. We are concerned with the scarcity of information provided in a number of questions on notice in relation to National Parks. Most notably, the minister failed to provide any relevant information at all for questions on notice 16 and 20. Question on notice 16 concerned new recreational and tourist activities likely to be introduced in Queensland national parks. The minister failed to provide an answer, instead using it as an opportunity to attack the previous government using out-dated figures. Question on notice 20 revealed that apparently the department does not hold any information on flora and fauna mapping for the national park estate. This beggars belief. If true it is evidence that the latest machinery of government changes have created unworkable and confusing divisions of labour between departments. During the hearing it became evident the minister ignored departmental advice that the abolition of a
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