Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ellison, the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing. Is the minister aware that Senator Parry made a submission to the review of the Tasmanian hospital system on 10 April 2004 supporting the reform of the Tasmanian health system? Is the minister further aware that Senator Parry’s submission stated that duplication of health services in north-west Tasmania had failed to deliver the standard of care that the community needed and indeed deserved? Is the minister also aware that Senator Parry wrote to the Tasmanian health minister, Lara Giddings, on 7 February this year supporting the state government’s plans for reform, stating that:

I am encouraged that at long last we are tackling the real issues of duplication in order to provide better health services.

Given that Senator Parry’s position is now clear, can the minister explain why Minister Abbott now asserts that this is not his view?