❓ Mr. Rundle questions the Minister for Health regarding hospital visit policies, alleging preferential treatment for Labor candidates. The Minister clarifies the policy and corrects a factual error regarding one of the cited visits.
AnsweredQoN 868Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOSPITALS —
VISITS — POLITICAL CANDIDATES
868. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the recent response from
the minister's office regarding my request to visit Bridgetown Hospital
with the Nationals WA candidate for Warren–Blackwood, which states that
the policy is that hospital visits are facilitated only for official business
and, as such, visits for candidates cannot be accommodated. I have photos of
the minister visiting hospitals alongside the Labor candidates for Rockingham
and Butler. The first one is captioned —
It was great to visit Rockingham
General Hospital with Labor's candidate for the upcoming by-election,
Magenta Marshall—Labor for Rockingham.
The second one, which is of the
minister with Lorna Clarke, the candidate for Butler, is captioned —
Very #demure � Lorna and I were so
excited to open the ECU Health Centre that we even ended up in matching
outfits.
Point of Order
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : I have a point
of order.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please. I
am going to be taking a point of order from the Leader of the House, so just
resume your seat for a moment, Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : Madam
Speaker, this is question time. The preamble has continued for some time. He
could refer simply to two examples very briefly in his question.
The SPEAKER : You are quite
right, Leader of the House. It is not in order to present a lot of argument in
your question, so I ask you, member, to get to the question, please.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr P.J. RUNDLE : Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Can the minister confirm whether her policy is that only she
and Labor candidates are permitted to visit hospitals in Western Australia?
VISITS — POLITICAL CANDIDATES
868. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the recent response from
the minister's office regarding my request to visit Bridgetown Hospital
with the Nationals WA candidate for Warren–Blackwood, which states that
the policy is that hospital visits are facilitated only for official business
and, as such, visits for candidates cannot be accommodated. I have photos of
the minister visiting hospitals alongside the Labor candidates for Rockingham
and Butler. The first one is captioned —
It was great to visit Rockingham
General Hospital with Labor's candidate for the upcoming by-election,
Magenta Marshall—Labor for Rockingham.
The second one, which is of the
minister with Lorna Clarke, the candidate for Butler, is captioned —
Very #demure � Lorna and I were so
excited to open the ECU Health Centre that we even ended up in matching
outfits.
Point of Order
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : I have a point
of order.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please. I
am going to be taking a point of order from the Leader of the House, so just
resume your seat for a moment, Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : Madam
Speaker, this is question time. The preamble has continued for some time. He
could refer simply to two examples very briefly in his question.
The SPEAKER : You are quite
right, Leader of the House. It is not in order to present a lot of argument in
your question, so I ask you, member, to get to the question, please.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr P.J. RUNDLE : Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Can the minister confirm whether her policy is that only she
and Labor candidates are permitted to visit hospitals in Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
It is certainly the health service provider policy that
sitting members are able to visit hospital sites. The one referred to by Lorna
Clarke was actually an ECU site; it is not a hospital.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, I am waiting to be able to hear
the supplementary question in silence, please. Member for Cannington, I knew
you would like to be called to order one last time!
sitting members are able to visit hospital sites. The one referred to by Lorna
Clarke was actually an ECU site; it is not a hospital.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, I am waiting to be able to hear
the supplementary question in silence, please. Member for Cannington, I knew
you would like to be called to order one last time!
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.