❓ A parliamentary question regarding elective surgery waiting lists in WA leads to a heated debate, with the Minister for Health refuting claims made by the shadow minister and accusing him of spreading misinformation.
AnsweredQoN 663Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTIVE SURGERY — OPPOSITION COMMENTS
I was most concerned to read quotes attributed to the opposition in the paper yesterday morning stating that, firstly, there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting lists; secondly, the number of operations being performed are continuing to fall; and thirdly, this is all happening despite generous spending by the federal government to boost the number of elective surgeries undertaken. Will the minister please tell the house whether the aforementioned statements about elective surgery in Western Australia are correct? Dr K.D. HAMES
I was most concerned to read quotes attributed to the opposition in the paper yesterday morning stating that, firstly, there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting lists; secondly, the number of operations being performed are continuing to fall; and thirdly, this is all happening despite generous spending by the federal government to boost the number of elective surgeries undertaken. Will the minister please tell the house whether the aforementioned statements about elective surgery in Western Australia are correct? Dr K.D. HAMES
AnswerView source ↗
I have to admit that I have taken the comments of the shadow Minister for Health from what was written in the paper, and I know that those things are not always accurate. I know that the paper does not always accurately report what was said but I have to say that having seen large numbers of press releases from the shadow Minister for Health that are frequently inaccurate, it leads me to believe that those statements attributed to the shadow minister are true. I will deal with three in particular that have been mentioned to tell the house what the real facts are. The problem for the shadow minister is that he is getting a reputation in the media. The media talking to me — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I have to admit that I have taken the comments of the shadow Minister for Health from what was written in the paper, and I know that those things are not always accurate. I know that the paper does not always accurately report what was said but I have to say that having seen large numbers of press releases from the shadow Minister for Health that are frequently inaccurate, it leads me to believe that those statements attributed to the shadow minister are true. I will deal with three in particular that have been mentioned to tell the house what the real facts are. The problem for the shadow minister is that he is getting a reputation in the media. The media talking to me — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
I have to admit that I have taken the comments of the shadow Minister for Health from what was written in the paper, and I know that those things are not always accurate. I know that the paper does not always accurately report what was said but I have to say that having seen large numbers of press releases from the shadow Minister for Health that are frequently inaccurate, it leads me to believe that those statements attributed to the shadow minister are true. I will deal with three in particular that have been mentioned to tell the house what the real facts are. The problem for the shadow minister is that he is getting a reputation in the media. The media talking to me — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I have to admit that I have taken the comments of the shadow Minister for Health from what was written in the paper, and I know that those things are not always accurate. I know that the paper does not always accurately report what was said but I have to say that having seen large numbers of press releases from the shadow Minister for Health that are frequently inaccurate, it leads me to believe that those statements attributed to the shadow minister are true. I will deal with three in particular that have been mentioned to tell the house what the real facts are. The problem for the shadow minister is that he is getting a reputation in the media. The media talking to me — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
I have to admit that I have taken the comments of the shadow Minister for Health from what was written in the paper, and I know that those things are not always accurate. I know that the paper does not always accurately report what was said but I have to say that having seen large numbers of press releases from the shadow Minister for Health that are frequently inaccurate, it leads me to believe that those statements attributed to the shadow minister are true. I will deal with three in particular that have been mentioned to tell the house what the real facts are. The problem for the shadow minister is that he is getting a reputation in the media. The media talking to me — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : — say that so much of the information the shadow minister has provided to them is blatantly inaccurate, so they have to now go away and check everything — Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Mr R.H. Cook : Is that really what they are saying? Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : It is definitely what they say. They do not trust the shadow minister anymore because so many times he has led them astray and given them false information! Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I have to say — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : When I was in opposition I had an interesting relationship with the former minister. On many occasions we had conflicting views on how the health system was being managed. Outside that, we had a fairly good relationship. He could trust that I would not blatantly misrepresent the truth. Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Mr R.H. Cook : That’s not what he said. Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : That is what he said to me. Perhaps the former minister is not telling the shadow minister the same as he told me. Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Let us go through a few things. This is all found on a website. It is not something that we can accidentally make a mistake on and accidentally get the wrong information. As soon as an issue comes up and as soon as the shadow minister is asked a question, he finds a negative answer whether he knows what the answer is or not. He claims that there is an upward trend in people on the elective surgery waiting list. That is obviously not true. All we have to do is look at that website to see that the waiting list numbers are not elevated; they have reduced. The total number of people on waiting lists in July 2008 was 14 560. In July 2009 it was less than that—14 438. There are fewer people on the waiting lists, not more, as the shadow minister stated. It is true that it is not a lot less but we have had a significant increase in the number of people coming onto the waiting list. The reason is that we have been working at those who are waiting to get onto the waiting list. When the former minister was talking about the first stage, there were 36 000 people waiting to get onto the waiting list. We have been working to get that system working much more efficiently. We have had a significant growth in the number of people who are coming onto the waiting list and having surgery. That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
That leads me to the second claim. The shadow minister says that the number of operations being performed is continuing to fall. That is not true. Again, all we have to do is go to the website. The number of operations has increased. It is not even starting to fall, let alone continuing to fall. We should look at the number of cases. As part of the agreement with the commonwealth on the elective surgery plan, we had an additional 4 176 cases above the 2007 base year. As of 31 August this year, WA is 366 cases ahead of where it was supposed to be. We are doing significantly more surgery, not less. The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
The last claim that the shadow minister made — Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Several members interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Members opposite do not want to hear it. The shadow minister said that this is all happening despite spending by the federal government to boost the number of people waiting for elective surgery. The Leader of the Opposition, as the former Treasurer, should know that the money that came from the federal government for waitlist surgery was spent last year, not this year. The $30 million that is being spent on waitlist surgery now comes from the commitment made by us in opposition. There is another lot coming from the commonwealth but we do not have it yet. We have only just agreed on the process by which it is coming. My friend Nicola Roxon and I are working very hard on those waiting list numbers. On Friday she praised every state, including our own, for the great work that we have done on waitlist surgery. Next time the shadow minister should get his facts right.
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