Calvary deal can respect Canberra community

The debate about whether to pursue the ACT Government’s purchase of the Calvary Hospital is becoming more heated, and unsurprisingly, more contentious, as the people of Canberra come to grips with the dilemma that they are being sold by the ACT Government and the owners of Calvary Public Hospital, the Little Company of Mary Health Care (LCM).

Both parties to the sale have insisted that the purchase of the hospital, a 222 public bed facility that services north Canberra, is conditional on the sale to LCM of the ACT Hospice, Clare Holland House, Canberra’s only Hospice facility that is much-valued by the community and one of the jewels in the crown of ACT public health care.

In doing so, they are insisting on an outcome that will not deliver the most optimal health care for the people of Canberra, and they are ignoring the wishes of the community with a deal that locks in palliative care services in the ACT for the next 30 years.

The ACT Greens have clearly articulated our preferred outcome on this issue: the purchase of Calvary Hospital should not be linked to the sale of the Hospice. We have been clear in our position that public health facilities should be in public hands, and so support the Government ownership of all public hospitals. We also sympathise strongly with those who state that the Hospice has been developed by the community, for the community and should stay in Government hands.

In putting this position, the Greens have been the only party in the Assembly to represent the majority view of the ACT community, as well as key groups such as the Health Care Consumers and the ACT Branch of the Australian Nursing Federation. It is somewhat ironic that in doing so, we not only find ourselves in the cross-fire from those who wish to keep each facility in public hands, but are also dealing with inaccurate aspersions about our position.

This is a complex issue and it is deserving of decision makers not only reflecting carefully on all the options, but also consulting with a broad range of stakeholders and problem solving to achieve the best outcome for the people of the ACT.

We are not shy about taking our time on this decision, nor indeed on any complex policy issue.  As the purchase of the hospital is not imminent, there is no need to rush into rubber stamping the Government’s plan, or take an immediate oppositional position such as the Canberra Liberals.

Contrary to some commentator’s perceptions, the Greens have been actively engaged in pursuing an outcome for the Calvary/Hospice deal that we believe broadly reflects the community’s view. In the Assembly we put a motion calling on the parties involved to decouple the purchase of the Hospital from the sale of the Hospice – unfortunately neither the Liberals or the Government supported that motion.

The Government’s failure to support that motion does raise a question as to why they are not prepared to stand up to LCM and be clear about what is and is not acceptable to the ACT community. Having now got a clearer idea of that through their own community consultation process and by monitoring the public debate, their intransigence on this issue is of some concern.

LCM have also engaged in negotiations with all the ruthless calculation of a large multi-national, paying little heed to the concerns of the community in their pursuit of a  comfortable niche in Canberra’s public health landscape.

It’s a cheap shot for our political opponents to accuse us of not being able to take tough decisions.  We know that there will be no avoiding the tough decision if the final proposal that the Government puts on the table still includes the sale of the Hospice. I and my colleagues are unapologetic for making this tough decision in a thoughtful and informed manner, knowing that we have explored every avenue, listened to all stakeholders, and pushed to get the very best outcome for the people of Canberra that we can. Those who elected us would expect no less.

Amanda Bresnan MLA is the ACT Greens Health spokesperson.

The ACT Greens response to today’s mid year budget review is to look to the long term and make sure that any restructuring helps position the ACT economy for the future.

“We recognise that the global economic crisis and its impacts across Australia has put the ACT in a challenging situation, where some years of deficit are inevitable” Mr Rattenbury said today.

“Like other economies, the ACT will need to make some adjustments.  And that’s when the timing of initiatives in the Greens-ALP Agreement, and the way we handle priorities, become the issue.”

“Some of the best minor capital works we can get started on, in the February stimulus package, are green projects that quickly create green jobs and industry. Retrofitting energy inefficient homes is one clear example of the right kind of project.”

“We shouldn’t forget how this financial crisis came about: a focus on short-term profit by the richest parts of the global community.  Everyone now recognises that it is time for new thinking.

“That’s why the Greens-ALP Agreement is a commitment to building a green economy for the future and to strengthening the community sector.”

“We support taking a calm and sensible approach to the challenge of the next few budgets, but the direction we need to move in is still clear.”

“Finally, we are pleased to see that this new minority government is consulting the ACT community on the 2009/10 budget. The Greens urge people to get involved in that process. And, given the ACT Government’s shrinking income, to think about revenue as well as expenditure” Mr Rattenbury said.

ACT Greens Environment spokesperson, Shane Rattenbury MLA, has described the swift implementation of Solar Feed-in Tariffs as a win for Canberra.

“The commitment made in the Greens-ALP Agreement to bring the implementation forward to 1 March 2009, will make the ACT a National leader in home Solar energy policy,” Mr Rattenbury said today.

“This is good news to many Canberrans that have already invested in Solar panels.”

“It also sends the message to those considering solar power for their homes that feed-in laws are on their way very soon.”

“We also want to see the Government’s Draft Interim Energy Policy issued next month for community input.”

“Canberra is well positioned to lead the way on practical solutions to climate change.” Rattenbury said.

Shane Rattenbury MLA, ACT Greens spokesperson on the environment, has welcomed the Federal Transport Minister’s decision not to approve the Canberra Airport’s Master Plan, announced today.

“Clearly Minister Albanese has recognised community concerns regarding the airport’s plan to run a 24 hour freight hub” Mr Rattenbury said today.

“We welcome that decision.”

“The Canberra Airport is an important part of the ACT’s economic future. But it hasn’t been working closely with the ACT Government or the Canberra community in expanding its business over the past few years.”

“Airports across Australia are only answerable to the Commonwealth Minster for Transport rather than their local communities. This decision is, in a way, a step back to local accountability.”

 “We look forward to seeing how the Canberra Airport Group takes account of community views in its revised draft master plan when it is presented some time in the next six months” Mr Rattenbury said.”

The ACT Greens today welcomed Caroline Le Couteur to their team of newly elected MLAs.

Inappropriate data centre site

The ACT Greens have announced that, if elected, they would not support the development of a data centre or power station on the current proposed site in Macarthur, and that before such a development could go ahead, a feasibility and site selection study, not including the current site, should be undertaken.

The whole site selection procedure has been very secretive with no consultation with the community. As the FOI documents revealed, the Chief Minister’s interference in due process was inappropriate, making what should have been straight forward planning decisions into a highly political exercise. Given their intimate involvement in the process, it is very troubling that there was no consideration of community or environmental interests by the Chief Minister, his Department, or ACTEWAGL until the community’s justifiable outrage propelled the issue into the media.

A development such as the data centre would severely restrict the width and viability of the wildlife corridor which locally links the Wanniassa Hills Nature reserve, with its protected woodland ecosystem, to the Jerrabomberra grasslands which border the Monaro Highway. The edges of this specific site should be rehabilitated to form an effective buffer, without which, pressures on existing reserves are significantly exacerbated, and the contiguity of Canberra’s southern reserve system is further threatened. It is very important that the EIS take such contiguity issues into account.

The impact on the community has been virtually ignored in this process to date, and the EIS in its current form will not adequately deal with this. The overall loss of community amenity on the current site would be high. The Greens believe that community opinion is itself an important consideration in evaluating the merits of development applications.

With the premature termination of the Health Study’s steering committee, the inadequacy of the first Preliminary Assessment, the Government’s apparent initial intention to push the project through without an adequate EIS, the lack of transparency by various Government Agencies, the Planning Minister’s refusal to demand an adequate EIS and the Chief Minister’s attempt to distance himself from the site selection process, the community has lost all faith in the EIS and overall assessment process.

Due to the reasons outlined, we do not support the data centre development on the current site.

The ACT Greens support having a Tier 4 data centre in the ACT, and the cogeneration technology in this proposal is extremely welcome. We also support attracting IT industries to Canberra. There should, however, be a thorough site selection and feasibility study to determine an appropriate site in the ACT, and what the impacts of this development would be. The impacts of such a development on the community and the environment should be primary concerns of any responsible Government.

“There should be an independent investigation into this
matter” – Hunter

The Defence Department must urgently reveal if the contaminated site of former Naval Transmission Station at Lawson poses any immediate health risks to Belconnen residents, Meredith Hunter, ACT Greens candidate for Ginninderra said today. (see page 1, today’s Canberra Times)

“Belconnen residents need to know if the toxic substances at the Lawson site, including heavy metals, as well as cancer-causing dioxins and asbestos are putting their health at risk,” Ms Hunter said.

“The reports indicate that both the soil and groundwater are contaminated and that there is unsecured asbestos at the site. Defence must immediately release all information relating to the contamination of the site to the public.

“There should be an independent investigation into why the Defence Department did not release this critical information to the public; how long it has known about the contamination at the site; what it told the ACT Government; and what exactly it has done to remediate the site.

“The ACT government should not accept the land from Defence until the site has been independently assessed as suitable for residential development. ACT residents should not bear the costs of the cleanup or any liability for problems caused by the contamination,” Ms Hunter said.

THE CONTEXT AND IMPORTANCE OF THIS INITIATIVE
· ACT Government activities and decisions have significant consequences for resource use and the environment, so the government has a significant part to play in making the ACT sustainable

· The Greens believe that for a government to ask citizens and businesses to become greener, the government must lead by example.

· Greening of government is necessary across the country, and the ACT government can accelerate the process by being an example for the rest of Australia to follow

THE AIM OF THIS INITIATIVE
To reduce the ecological footprint of the ACT Government in terms of:

o Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

o Reducing water usage

o Reducing other resource use, such as paper

o Reducing production of waste

THE KEY MEASURES OF THIS INITIATIVE

1. Purchasing 100% of ACT Government electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar generation.

2. Retro-fitting energy and water efficiency technologies into buildings owned by the ACT Government, and working with landlords to retro-fit these technologies in buildings leased by ACT Government.

3. Strong sustainable procurement guidelines covering all ACT Government purchasing decisions.

The ACT Greens and Queanbeyan-Monaro Greens today called for better cross-border coordination to deliver improved public transport services for Canberra and Queanbeyan City.

Greens lead candidate for Queanbeyan City Council, Katrina Willis, said neither Queanbeyan nor Canberra could deliver integrated and sustainable transport services until both cities worked more closely together on planning, infrastructure and service delivery.

“Around 65 per cent of Queanbeyan City workers commute to the ACT while 40 per cent of ACT workers commute to Queanbeyan City. Yet each city’s public transport services operate as if the other city doesn’t exist,” Ms Willis said.

“Transit lanes for buses and cars carrying more than one person during peak travel time along main roads connecting the two cities would go a long way towards making public transport an efficient and reliable option for people and reduce traffic congestion.”

ACT Greens candidate for Ginninderra, Meredith Hunter, said closer transport cooperation was critical given the projected population growth for both cities.

“Even though we are in a different state and territory, we live side-by-side and should be working together to give people the option of leaving the car at home as well as helping to address climate change,” Ms Hunter said.

“Transit lanes are a viable option that can be introduced quickly to deliver immediate benefits while we work to deliver long-term alternatives like light rail and more extensive bus networks.

“The Greens will make improved transport cooperation a priority for the ACT Legislative Assembly and Queanbeyan City Council.” Mrs Hunter Said