Free hospital parking available for Xmas period ABC Online 13/12/06
ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher has announced a reprieve from pay parking at hospitals over Christmas.
In a controversial move, the Government introduced pay parking at the Calvary and Canberra hospitals almost four months ago.
Ms Gallagher says the move to give free parking over the Christmas period is one of goodwill, not a backdown.
"We're not walking away from pay parking," she said.
"But we recognise that people have been giving us a lot of feedback about it - about ways to improve it.
"Many people don't mind paying for parking but they think there's better ways and fairer ways, we could have a system in operation at the hospital."
The ACT Opposition says the move to give free parking is nice, but not enough.
Liberal health spokesman Brendan Smyth says hospital parking should be free all the time.
"I think it's a nice gesture by the Government but I don't think it's the answer," he said.
"The answer is free parking all year round at the hospital, so that what is normally a stressful experience isn't made worse by the fact you have to hunt around your pocket for coins or you run the risk of getting a fine."