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CANBERRA-Patients' care would no longer be compromised after the ACT Government gave up
paid parking at public hospitals.
Visitors had been paying up to $5 a day to park at Canberra and Calvary hospitals under the scheme
introduced in September, 2010.
Health Minister Katy Gallagher announced yesterday visitors would no longer pay these fees because
the idea had proved unworkable and unpopular.
The Government would also spend $29 million over two years to build a multistorey car park with
1,400 spaces at Canberra Hospital. But she could not rule out that visitors would be charged to park in the new structure.
Ms Gallagher said the Government had listened to the public concerns. "It is clear that, in spite of a
generous policy, many visitors to the hospitals don't support the present system," she said.
The public would have access to twohour and threehour parking spaces from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
weekdays.
Opposition spokesman on urban services Steve Pratt congratulated the Government for "adopting"
Liberal policy to put an end to paid parking.
"Finally, the Stanhope Government has been forced to reduce the unfair burden that they put on ACT
residents," Mr Pratt said, "Why was it so necessary to put so many ACT residents particularly those who have to visit loved ones frequently or could hardly afford it through so much inconvenience and for so long before finally coming to their sense?"
Mr McGowan said the Government must come up with other ways to deal with problems such as
people parking at the hospital to avoid fees in Woden and Belconnen.
1. After a multistorey car park is completed, visitors to Canberra Hospital are ________ to pay for
parking there.
A. unable
B. likely
C. free
D. sure
2. The former scheme being given up shows that ________.
A. the majority are not as rich as expected
B. new things are hard to become popular
C. the Government accepts public views
D. people park far away from the hospitals
3. In Mr Pratt's opinion, ________.
A. the Government should have given up the parking policy much earlier
B. the problem with hospital parking should also be solved in other places
C. the paid parking policy has not been supported by most hospital visitors
D. the Government's latest decision is supposed to be still further improved