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23 Aug 2005 Ministerial Statement 2537 Commercial and Consumer Tribunal Act 2003— • Commercial and Consumer Tribunal Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2005, No. 194 Motor Vehicles and Boats Securities Act 1986— • Motor Vehicles and Boats Securities Regulation 2005, No. 195 Forestry Act 1959, Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Forestry and Nature Conservation Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2005, No. 196 Building Act 1975— • Building Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2005, No. 197 Integrated Planning Act 1997— • Integrated Planning Amendment Regulation (No. 3) 2005, No. 198 Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002— • Plumbing and Drainage Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2005, No. 199 Casino Control Act 1982— • Casino Gaming Amendment Rule (No. 1) 2005, No. 200 Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995— • Workplace Health and Safety (Codes of Practice) Amendment Notice (No. 3) 2005, No. 201 Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982— • Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Amendment Regulation (No. 3) 2005, No. 202 Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Acts Amendment Act 2004— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 203 Small Claims Tribunals Act 1973— • Small Claims Tribunals Regulation 2005, No. 204 Anti-Discrimination Act 1991— • Anti-Discrimination Regulation 2005, No. 205 Superannuation (State Public Sector) Act 1990— • Superannuation (State Public Sector) Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2005, No. 206 University of Queensland Act 1998— • University of Queensland (Statute No. 2 Repeal) Statute 2005 University of Queensland Act 1998— • University of Queensland Statute No. 1 (Election of Elected Members of Senate) 2005 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Morris Inquiry Hon. PD BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Treasurer) (9.34 am): This morning the Deputy Premier, Anna Bligh; the health minister, Stephen Robertson; and I met with Commissioner Tony Morris QC to discuss the time frame for the Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry. The Director-General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Leo Keliher; the Director-General of Queensland Health, Uschi Schreiber; Terry Wall, the Deputy Director-General of Policy Division of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, as well as counsel assisting the commission, Damien Atkinson, attended. We all agreed that the government must urgently launch into full-throttled reform of the health system, and that we need a report from the royal commission as soon as is practicable. The government always intended that we would receive final reports from the royal commission and the Queensland Health Systems Review, led by Peter Forster, on 30 September, enabling us to start unfettered systematic reform from 1 October. We have now agreed with Mr Morris on a timetable that will allow urgent improvements to Health while ensuring that the commission can provide natural justice and complete a hearings schedule that is busier than we originally expected. We have agreed that the commission will deliver two reports. Report 1 will cover systemic health issues and will be provided to me by the original deadline of 30 September, which is the same as the Forster review deadline. The government will then develop a blueprint that will be implemented. Report 2 will cover any findings on matters requiring natural justice and will be delivered by no later than 14 October. Commission hearings will continue until no later than Friday, 16 September. Originally the hearings were to wrap up this Friday, 26 August. The new timetable is expected to add $401,400 to the inquiry cost, which my department advised last week is an estimated $5.6 million to the end of September. These expenses are more than we expected when the government announced this inquiry and the Forster review. They include costs of representation in the Supreme Court for the bias case brought by Darren Keating and Peter Leck, costs which were unforeseeable at the start of this process. They also include the Director of Public Prosecution’s costs for advising the Queensland Police Service on matters surrounding Jayant Patel.
2538 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2005 Today is the royal commission’s 47th sitting day. It has heard from more than 80 witnesses in three cities and more than 300 exhibits have been tendered. On 10 June I tabled an interim report from the commission, which enabled the government to act immediately on high-pressure issues demanding legislative and administrative changes. Thanks to the commission’s work, improvements are in train. I confirmed by letter to Tony Morris this morning the arrangements. In the interests of public accountability, I seek leave to incorporate that letter in Hansard for the information of all Queenslanders. Leave granted. Queensland Government Premier of Queensland Mr Anthony Morris QC Commissioner Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry PO Box 13147 GEORGE STREET QLD 4003 Dear Tony I am writing to confirm our revised arrangements in relation to the final weeks of the Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry: 1. Report 1 about the Terms of Reference relating to systemic or prospective health issues will be provided by 30 September 2005; 2. Commission hearings will be extended to no later than 16 September 2005; and 3. Report 2 about findings on matters that require natural justice to be afforded to individuals (including those arising out of the events at Bundaberg Hospital) will be provided to Government no later than 14 October 2005. I stress that I am very keen to commence reforms of the health system from 1 October 2005 as a result of your recommendations in Report 1 and Peter Forster’s recommendations in his final report on the Health Systems Review. The health system is under considerable pressure at the moment, which has a significant impact on the many dedicated people working in our hospitals and other health services. It also affects the confidence of Queenslanders in the services available to them. As a result, I am unable to countenance any delays of these reforms and am grateful that you have agreed to provide Report 1 by 30 September 2005, despite the time constraints this places on you. Obviously Justice Moynihan’s decision in relation to the applications to the Supreme Court is still outstanding. Nonetheless, I am determined to make all the arrangements necessary to progress the urgent reforms that the Queensland health system now requires. Thank you for your assistance in this matter and I look forward to receiving your reports. Yours sincerely (sgd) PETER BEATTIE MP PREMIER AND TREASURER MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Broncos Sponsorship Hon. PD BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Treasurer) (9.37 am): This morning I have spoken to Bruno Cullen from the Brisbane Broncos, and we have mutually agreed to transfer our current government sponsorship from Queensland Health to the Department of Transport. The sponsorship is worth approximately $334,000 a year, and there are two years left to run on the agreement. There is no doubt that the arrangement with Queensland Health has proven beneficial as some of Queensland’s fittest and most popular athletes, the Broncos, have been a wonderful asset in helping us get the message across about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. They have done a great job, and I thank them for their efforts. However, while I stand by what we have done, there has been recent criticism of the program. I do not want anything to distract from the work we need to do to fix the problems in Queensland Health. I also do not want anything to distract from the Broncos’ run to the premiership. That is why I have spoken to Bruno, and we have agreed to transfer the sponsorship to the Department of Transport. While the exact details will be worked out in consultation with the Broncos, the money will be spent wisely to promote messages such as responsible behaviour for young drivers as well as the benefits of public transport. The Broncos have a huge fan base; at least 8.5 million viewers tune in to watch their games every year. This will provide our government with a great medium to reinforce the message about safety on our roads. Transferring this sponsorship means that no further money from the Health budget will be spent on that promotion.
Page 1 and 2: PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 WEEKLY HANSARD
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents — Tuesday, 23 A
Page 5: 2536 Papers 23 Aug 2005 PAPERS PAPE
Page 9 and 10: 2540 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2
Page 19 and 20: 2550 Scrutiny of Legislation Commit
Page 21 and 22: 2552 Private Members’ Statements
Page 23 and 24: 2554 Questions Without Notice 23 Au
Page 33 and 34: 2564 Members’ Ethics and Parliame
Page 35 and 36: 2566 Matters of Public Interest 23
Page 45 and 46: 2576 Constitutional and Other Legis
Page 47 and 48: 2578 Transport Legislation Amendmen
Page 49 and 50: 2580 Transport Legislation Amendmen
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2642 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 One pa
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2646 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 Finall
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weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

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