Page 924 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 17 June 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
There can be a conflict of interest only if a contract is involved. I hope that this program will be set up. I would be surprised if a majority of members of this Assembly found the extension of a methadone program so abhorrent that they would not vote for it and would not support it - and that includes members of the Labor Party. I hope that this amendment to the Act will get through today. If it does, at some future time there may arise the question of whether any individual pharmacist seeks or accepts the responsibility of participating in the program. That is when the conflict of interest point would emerge. I would suggest that, at that time, Mrs Carnell would think very carefully about her position, without being reminded by the voice of the conscience of the community over here. It is fascinating that only Mr Berry raises this. No other member of the Assembly has sought to mention this point.
Mr Berry: Nobody else has had the Bill since last night.
MR KAINE: You sat up in your caucus and decided that you were going to chop Mrs Carnell? Is that how you went about it? So you knew about it, but you did not choose to discuss it with Mrs Carnell either. Is that not interesting - that this conscience of the community, this Labor Party, makes this kind of vicious attack on the integrity of a member of this Assembly and does not even choose to sort it out off the floor of the house? They wait until they get down here and do it on the floor of the house.
The tragedy is, Madam Speaker, that there is no conflict of interest. Mr Berry has created the controversy, and he thinks it is funny.
Mr Berry: We are laughing at you.
MR KAINE: Just look at him. He thinks this is funny. I do not think it is funny. I object to the integrity of any member of this Assembly being impugned in this way. I would take the same view if it were Ms Follett, David Lamont or any other member of the government side. I think it is despicable, and I hope that the members of this Assembly agree with me that it is so.
I find it incomprehensible that Mr Berry chooses to go about it in this way. The issue this morning, in private members' time, is whether the methadone program should be extended to make it easier for methadone users to get access to the treatment that they require. That is the issue, or that ought to be the issue. But, no, Mr Berry has now wasted pretty well 40 minutes of private members' time to debate this personal attack on a member of the Assembly. I find it despicable - - -
Mr Berry: Why did you give me leave to do it?
MR KAINE: I did not give you leave. Somebody else gave you leave.
Mr Berry: You did not deny me leave.
MR KAINE: No, but I did not add my voice to giving you leave to do this. I believe, Mr Berry, that it is despicable. Do you hear me? Despicable! You can wear that. If you are going to go out of here after this debate this morning and spread to the community the word that Mrs Carnell is a crook because, after this, she might make 20c on a prescription once in a while, that is despicable. I am afraid, Mr Berry, that I have to say that up until now I have always thought you
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .