Page 913 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 March 1990
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MRS GRASSBY: Would you not? Mr Collaery, you would not know what it was about. We took note of what Professor Whalan said. It came from the TLC that it was not happy with this clause because the greatest offenders are the hospitals in Canberra, and there is no offence to be committed by a single person against that.
Mr Jensen: So Mr Duby was right.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Jensen!
MRS GRASSBY: No, Mr Duby was not right. Mr Duby does not know what goes on in the Cabinet, nor does he know what goes on in the TLC because the TLC would not have him. The TLC does not have people who change their minds as they change their clothes.
Mr Jensen: On a point of order, Mr Speaker - - -
Mr Collaery: He never changes his clothes.
MRS GRASSBY: Really? He has changed his party two or three times.
Mr Jensen: I refer to standing order 62, irrelevance. I did not think we were talking about this in this debate. I did not think it was about the TLC.
MRS GRASSBY: You would not know, Mr Jensen.
MR SPEAKER: Thank you. The objection is overruled because Mr Duby introduced the topic.
Mr Duby: A bit late, Norm.
MRS GRASSBY: That is normal. Norm is always late.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mrs Grassby, have you concluded your speech?
MRS GRASSBY: Yes.
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (8.31): I think there is much ado about nothing. After all, this Bill was brought forward in its present form by the former Government. I think we owe it to the record to correct the unexplained suggestion, which dropped off a cliff somewhere, from Mr Berry that some private person could bring a prosecution. I do not know whether the AMA, for example, contacted Mr Berry today and asked him to do this to protect doctors from this claim. I do not know what the motivation is, but clearly, as I said before, on the advice of the Government Law Office, on which the Opposition was prepared to rely previously, this provision should remain in, as has been the practice of other governments in this country.
To answer the question specifically, if a person were to commence a private prosecution - and a person may - against
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