Page 5254 - Week 17 - Thursday, 13 December 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
other quality assurance system and it should be appropriate here. The amendment circulated by Mr Berry is brought forward out of pure ignorance and should be rejected by this place.
MR BERRY (5.49): Mr Humphries talks about protection for people who bring evidence to these committees. Of course, the committees will be made up of the medical profession, it strikes me. He sets out to argue that there is some concern in his portfolio for quality assurance, yet what a mealy-mouthed statement he makes, because in his own amendments which have been circulated in this place he seeks to ensure that the board cannot direct health services, consultants or members of staff to participate to the extent that the board considers necessary in reasonably quality assurance activities. Do not let him talk to us about quality assurance, because he is dumping the requirement for these people to do it.
Mr Humphries: It does not mean that they cannot happen. It is because they cannot be compelled to take part in it.
MR BERRY: Now he says that it does not mean that they cannot happen. What a joke! This Minister is a joke and so is the Bill. The fact of the matter is that this tends to cover up the procedure of these committees. I do not think there is any argument that would support this sort of secrecy and I think it needs to be resisted.
Clauses agreed to.
Clauses 29 to 40, by leave, taken together, and agreed to.
Clauses 41 to 43, by leave, taken together.
MR HUMPHRIES (Minister for Health, Education and the Arts) (5.51): It is appropriate for us to look at these three clauses together because, substantially, they do cover the same issue. The clauses deal with participation in quality assurance programs and the level of compulsion it is possible to implement in respect of those quality assurance programs. It seems to me, Mr Speaker, that there is an argument, a very good argument, for considering whether the best way to implement such quality assurance programs is with the support or with the opposition of the most crucial groups to those kinds of programs, namely, the medical profession.
It is quite obvious, Mr Speaker, that there are other ways of achieving these ends, and those other ways include the construction of a quality assurance program negotiated with the Australian Medical Association, or with doctors generally. Mr Berry laughs. Mr Berry obviously does not believe that he can talk to the Australian Medical Association to reach such an agreement. I indicate, Mr Speaker, that I have a commitment from the AMA that they will work towards the achievement of a decent quality assurance program by the middle of next year and I am satisfied by that assurance.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .