'GP House' audit report raises more questions than it answers
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that the Auditor-General's report into the 'GP House' fiasco raises more questions than it answers.
Dr Phelps said the report indicates that the whole project was an exercise in GP disunity, not GP unity.
Point 19 on page 12 of the report reads:
- "The initiative being canvassed related to the construction of 'GP House' to provide office facilities within the parliamentary triangle for non-AMA groups."
"This would suggest a vendetta against the AMA, rather than a GP goodwill mission," Dr Phelps said.
"If you were seeking GP unity, why would you actively seek to exclude the country's peak medical organisation -the AMA.
"We were never consulted on this project - not by the Minister or his staff, not by the Department, not by the RACGP, and not by other GP groups.
"The Auditor-General has reported a series of bungles, backstabs, bumbling bureaucracy and bad process that could have come straight from Yes Minister - except this isn't funny.
"From the outset, it is clear that the Department of Finance opposed the project, and rightly so.
"How the project finally received the Finance Minister's tick requires further investigation.
"Taxpayers - who were to foot the bill for GP House - would like to know who knew what and when.
"The only good outcome from this whole sorry episode is that the funds diverted to pay for GP House were returned to the asthma and rural specialist outreach programs in this week's Budget," Dr Phelps said.
Dr Phelps said that while it appears former Health Minister, Dr Michael Wooldridge, has been cleared by the Auditor of any conflict of interest, there remains a need for enforceable guidelines or a code of conduct for politicians when they leave office.
"It would be in the interests of Ministers, Departments and all concerned if we had some guidelines - as they do in other countries - that would put an end to GP House scenarios."
CONTACT: John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761