Page 1827 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 1 May 1991
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MS FOLLETT: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. On the basis of Mr Kaine's reply I would ask him: Does he admit, then, that he has absolutely no control whatsoever over the members of his Government?
MR KAINE: All I can say is that we are in the latest episode of the Rosie and Wayne comedy show.
Mental Health Legislation
MRS NOLAN: Mr Speaker, my question is addressed to Mr Humphries in his capacity as Minister for Health. Can the Minister advise what action is being taken with regard to the Balancing Rights report released following a review of mental health legislation in the ACT?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, yes, I can. In 1990 I initiated a major review of mental health legislation in the ACT. The review was undertaken by an expert committee headed by an independent chair, Mr Nick Seddon, a senior lecturer in law at the ANU. Committee members represented a wide variety of viewpoints and interest groups. The committee provided its report to me at the end of November last year and produced a detailed and highly professional document entitled Balancing Rights: A Review of Mental Health Legislation in the ACT.
The report contained some 59 recommendations and I think it is one of the most significant documents to emerge in the field of mental health law in this country for some years. Hundreds of copies of the report have been distributed to those groups and individuals who made submissions to the review, and to other interested parties. Several of these individuals and groups have since written to me putting forward submissions on the report and its recommendations. I have decided to set a cut-off date for such submissions, after which time a government response to the report, taking into account any community comments, would be finalised. That cut-off date is 18 May 1991, which I am sure will satisfy those opposite.
The Government's response to the report will need to cover several areas of concern. The Government will, firstly, respond to the committee's recommendations concerning changes in ACT mental health legislation. However, as was found during the review process, the issues of legislation and services in this field cannot be clearly separated, and our response will need to address community service delivery and administrative issues arising from the report
In order to cover those various areas the Government's response to the report will most likely take the form of a white paper. I thank Mrs Nolan for that question.
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