Falklands : Legislative Assembly Speech by The Hon Mr Dick Sawle
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 31.10.2011 (Article Archived on 14.11.2011)
Mr Speaker, Honourable colleagues, there are always many topics that one could mention in speaking to the Motion for Adjournment and I would like to keep my topics short and focused today for which some colleagues of mine will be most grateful.
The Hon Mr Dick Sawle:
Mr Speaker, Honourable colleagues, there are always many topics that one could mention in speaking to the Motion for Adjournment and I would like to keep my topics short and focused today for which some colleagues of mine will be most grateful.
Firstly I would like to thank the Chief of Staff, Jim Kline for he and his colleagues’ valuable assistance over the last 6 months or so, I think, I had the honour of being at a slightly less formal good-bye last night. It was good to be surrounded by fast-jet pilots. It certainly put my penchant for large engine motor vehicles into prospective. But victory rolls over Stanley, Sir, are always most welcome.
Last week there was a reception to award the Queen’s Certificate and badge of Honour to both Jan miller and Viviane Perkins. I was delighted to receive an invitation to attend and in congratulating them, I would like to emphasise a point which I frequently make, namely that they, like many others in this community work long and hard and almost always in an unobtrusive way to contribute and assist in the community. There are many others in this category – the list is very lengthy but I would like to thank both Jan and Viviane and the many others who serve on committees of one sort or another or who give freely of their time for no self-interest or reward other than knowing they are doing the right thing. This type of selflessness – this type of selfless giving enriches our community and gives it strength
Time Change: there’s been a lot of face-book comment whether or not to keep to summertime. There has also been a plethora of e-mails and phone calls and no doubt the odd tweet, perhaps. No doubt there will be far more tweets in the near future given the fact that our mobile network is soon to go live with data capabilities. However, in the meantime, what is interesting is that each of us tasked with making the decision seems to have differing views on the feedback received. I am glad, therefore that we have agreed to a telephone survey which will hopefully give us a clear steer. For my money for what it’s worth is on making the current arrangement permanent. But it will be interesting to see what the result is.
November the 3rd is another interesting consultation day and I would urge everyone to use their vote and make their choice. Will those living in Camp be ignored if we have a single constituency? Mr Speaker, I doubt that very much indeed. All of us are elected to represent the Falklands and certainly I have never heard of any Stanley MLA refusing to deal with any Camp matter on constituency grounds or visa-versa. The fact is that we work a portfolio system which takes no account of constituency boundaries. I hope that the vote will be a resounding one in favour of a single constituency. This will give everyone more choice in election time and more choice has to be the right way forward.
I also look forward to the day when that choice of candidates standing for election is widened by the removal of what I see is the one major obstacle that prohibits some very able and committed people from standing for election, namely that of pay and conditions of Members. I firmly believe that Members should be properly paid and properly resourced. The days of this job being a part-time business are fading into the distance. There is, I believe, plenty of evidence to support this view. If I had to support a family, pay a mortgage and meet all of my financial commitments on Member’s pay, I simply could not afford to stand. This cannot be right as it largely limits the electorate’s choices to those of independent means, retired or part time workers. I would like to emphasize that this is not a criticism of any of my colleagues past or present it is simply an observation which I know many support. I have often said that I have every admiration for those who hold down a job and also take on the task of being an MLA. It must be far from easy.
I believe that we should re-open the book and look at this before the end of the current Assembly’s term in November 2013. I would like to ask the people’s views on this.
Mr Speaker, returning to the theme of community, I asked a number of questions earlier of my colleague the Hon Sharon Halford. I would like to take this opportunity to make a few comments. I would like to stress that in asking the question I am not critical of my Honourable Colleague or any individuals whatsoever. I know that she has taken forward and dealt with many concerns that have been raised on medical treatment. I also know that she shares common concerns with me in many cases. But the fact is, Mr Speaker, there are some in our community who are simply not receiving the treatment they require. We may well be in constrained financial times; we may well have to keep a weather-eye on budgets but we cannot lose sight of the people that are caught up in the net of those financial considerations. The fact is that people whose problems are capable of remedy are simply not being dealt with. I do not believe that there are many in this situation but that is not the point. The point is that even if there is one person who is not being treated, who could be treated and who has been left outside the system suffer, that is one too many for a community this size.
We may save money on medical treatment overseas which would look good in terms of the financial balance sheet. However, for every pound saved on the opposite side of the balance sheet, unless the health of the nation is dramatically increased, there is a corresponding human liability building up on the other side of the balance sheet. We must be careful that we are not simply meeting current budget targets whilst building up a large future liability. People cannot simply be left untreated for months, unable to work and therefore unable to earn the money needed to pay the increasing costs of living.
It is, I imagine, a fairly simple matter to determine the need for medical treatment overseas in life-threatening situations but where the situation is not immediately life-threatening, there is, to quote FIG’s own policy, and I quote: “ a significant functional intend” or “not to refer would have a serious, detrimental effect on the patient’s health and well-being” then we should be acting to sort the problems out.
Mr Speaker, I would urge Honourable Colleagues to consider this and reflect on the very real, yet intangible value of a caring society. There is always a danger of ignoring the human element in society and letting the Holy Grail of the balanced budget govern our decision-making to the detriment of those who contribute and who are assets to our country. That cannot be the right way forward.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
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