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24 November 1988 COUNCIL 543 Libraries Bill 24 November 1988 COUNCIL 543 Thursday, 24 November 1988 The PRESIDENT (the Hon. A. J. Hunt) took the chair at 11.3 a.m. and read the prayer. LIBRARIES BILL This Bill was received from the Assembly and, on the motion of the Hon. C. J. HOGG (Minister for Ethnic Affairs), was read a first time. GOVERNOR'S SPEECH Presentation of Address-in-Reply The PRESIDENT-Order! His Excellency the Governor has advised that he will be pleased to receive the President and members of the Legislative Council at Government House on Wednesday, 7 December, at 11 a.m. for the presentation of the Address-in-Reply. I should be glad if as many members as possible would find it convenient to accompany me at that time. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE DEREGULATION OF PUBLIC HOSPITAL FEES The Hon. M. A. BIRRELL (East Yarra Province)-I refer the Minister for Health to my question yesterday when I asked him whether, during the past business year, he made a submission to Cabinet that canvassed the total deregulation of public hospital fees. Yesterday the Minister said, "No, not that I am aware of". Having had time to reflect on his answer, does the Minister recall the submission and will he provide a full and accurate answer to the question? The Hon. D. R. WHITE (Minister for Health)-The current situation with private beds in public hospitals is that a fee was set on 1 April 1988 at an average level of $139. It was indicated that the government would be moving to a method of patient categorisation for those fees, which meant that there would be different charges for different categories for both medical patients and surgical patients, but that the average charge for private patients in public hospitals was to be $139, which was well below the charges levied by private hospitals for the same medical and surgical procedures in private hospitals. If a privately insured patient was admitted to a private hospital the benefit would be significantly higher. The government made it clear when announcing this initiative that it was a Cabinet decision to set the fee at $139, which is below the fees in many States, including New South Wales. The government decided it would not make a further adjustment to that fee before April 1989. Previously there had been fee increases twice each year-in March and September. Since the Cabinet decision was brought into effect, there have been many discussions with the private health insurance funds and the Private Hospitals Association. A range of views have been expressed about what should occur. One view was that people with private health insurance were being encouraged to use public hospitals because the level of benefit that private insurance funds were paying was lower and that that 544 COUNCIL 24 November 1988 Questions without Notice has created a circumstance where many privately insured patients are using public hospital beds when it might be more appropriate for them to use private hospital beds. It is also clear that, if a substantial change were made to the level of benefit paid by the private health insurance funds to public hospitals, that would cause serious dislocation of the private health insurance industry because of its lack of capacity to make substantial increases in the level of benefits without the necessity to change the level of premiums, and the consequent impact. That situation was known and understood in all discussions that occurred in Health Department Victoria, in discussions with the Private Hospitals Association and the private insurance funds and at all times when these matters are discussed at government level. The government does not have any proposals at this stage, nor is there any Cabinet agreement, to move beyond the fee of$139 that is currently being charged. The Hon. M. A. Birrell-You are confirming that by omission. The Hon. D. R. WHITE-I am also indicating that the Cabinet will not consider the matter before February or March next year. The Hon. M. A. Birrell-There is still a submission on the table, isn't there? The Hon. D. R. WHITE-No submission is before the Cabinet at this stage, but the Cabinet will consider this in the normal course of events in February or March 1989. The Hon. M. A. Birrell-Did you withdraw your submission? The Hon. D. R. WHITE-I make it clear to Mr Birrell that the matter was considered prior to April 1988 and a Cabinet decision was made to set the fee at $139. There has been no need to consider it subsequent to that date. Cabinet will consider it again in February or March next year, and it will not move to deregulate the fees. We have moved towards patient categorisation and we have set an average level of the benefit at $139. It will be considered again prior to any changes being made in 1989. I need to place on record the fact that the average level offees being charged is $139, and that contrasts more than favourably with the public hospital fee charged for private beds in New South Wales under a Liberal Party administration, which is $165. DRUG AND CHEMICAL SAFETY EVALUATION CENTRE The Hon. R. M. HALLAM (Western Province)-In view of the reluctance of the selected partner for the government's proposed drug and chemical safety evaluation centre, Applied Bioscience International, to come up with any funds at all for the joint venture, is the Minister for Industry, Technology and Resources now proposing that the government provide 100 per cent of the capital; if so, will this additional money be provided through the Victorian Investment Corporation Ltd, and how much is the current estimate of the proposed loan? The Hon. E. H. WALKER (Minister for Industry, Technology and Resources)-In response to the first portion of the question, the answer is, "No"; in other words, the government is not intending to provide 100 per cent of the capital. I prefer to respond to the second portion of the question by way of a letter in detail. Questions without Notice 24 November 1988 COUNCIL 545 RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES The Hon. W. A. LANDERYOU (Doutta Galla Province)-Can the Minister for Industry, Technology and Resources assure the House of the government's continuing commitment to renewable energy sources and to the role of the Victorian Solar Energy Council? The Hon. E. H. WALKER (Minister for Industry, Technology and Resources)-I thank Mr Landeryou for his question; he shows great concern for the matter of renewable energy-this may be a new Bill Landeryou! I can give him a categoric assurance of the government's continuing commitment to investigating and developing the possibilities of renewable energy. Victoria produces some of the cheapest energy in the world in the Latrobe Valley from its vast brown coal, oil, and gas resources. Because of those vast resources, one might think that we need not worry too much about research into solar and other forms of energy. Victoria is ahead of all other States of Australia in this regard, and at the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society conference last week it was credited as being the State doing the most in the area of renewable energy research. The Victorian Solar Energy Council has been in business for approximately eight years. It is Victoria's flag carrier in regard to renewable energy, and I pay tribute to the chairman of the council, Professor Bill Charters, Dean of Engineering at the University of Melbourne. He has been chairman of that body since its inception. The council has a world-class reputation for its commitment to increasing the utilisation of renewable energy in Victoria. It has had a number of significant achievements. The one that impressed me most in recent times-I think I mentioned it in this House-was its wind energy study, which has led to the establishment of a wind generator at Breamlea, which is feeding into the State Electricity Commission network. Good work has also been done in the remote area power supply study, which examined the provision of consistent power supplies for remote areas of Victoria. As I said, the energy conference paid tribute to the work Victoria has done. However, we must not rest on our laurels. It is my view that the council should not be called the Victorian Solar Energy Council; its name should be changed to reflect more the breadth of work that it does on renewable energy research. I have asked my department to review the objectives and structure of the council. Its charter must be clearly identified with all forms of renewable energy. I look forward to the next chapter in Victoria's commitment to renewable energy and energy conservation. I believe, within the life of honourable members in this Parliament, it will be possible to feed into our network energy from a number of different sources-tidal, wind and solar-so that Victoria is seen to be strongly conservationist in the way it generates its power for use by both industry and domestic consumers. O'DOWD RESEARCH PTY LTD The Hon. M. T. TEHAN (Central Highlands Province)-The question I direct to the Minister for Industry, Technology and Resources is similar to the question asked by Mr de Fegely on 15 November concerning O'Dowd Research Pty Ltd. In view of the winding-up application of O'Dowd Research Pty Ltd that is currently before the Supreme Court, will the Minister advise what percentage of equity the Victorian Investment Corporation Ltd has in the company, and what the estimated amount at risk to the corporation is as both a creditor and a shareholder in the research company? 546 COUNCIL 24 November 1988 Questions without Notice The Hon.
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