Page 2591 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 October 1992
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Drugs Act. At the same time these controls have been updated and simplified, which will ensure that the nationally recognised problems of unsafe storage practices and incorrect labelling of domestic chemicals will be addressed in the ACT.
This is in line with the national plan for domestic chemicals, which stresses that a national strategy for domestic poisons which includes all chemicals found in the home - including pharmaceuticals, home garden and handyman products and formulated products designed for home use - is needed. This plan was endorsed by the NHMRC in October 1991 and was noted at the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council meeting in March 1992. While this broader approach has resulted in delays to the adoption of the NHMRC schedule by reference, the Bills to be presented to the Assembly amending the three pieces of legislation - the Poisons Act, the Poisons and Drugs Act and the Drugs of Dependence Act - will offer a complete parcel of legislation ensuring that public health in the ACT is enhanced.
That is the simple reason why we have Mrs Carnell carping about the delay which has allegedly occurred in fulfilling the undertaking given by Mr Berry last year. The fact is that the world is not quite as simplistic as Mrs Carnell believes it is, looking through her rose-tinted pharmaceutical glasses. A great deal of additional work has been necessary to ensure that the legislation is appropriately dealt with. If Mrs Carnell cannot accept that, then I suppose it really behoves me to suggest that Mrs Carnell on this occasion is as misinformed about what the processes are as she quite obviously has been in dealing with other matters in relation to the health portfolio.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (11.20): I think the first thing that the Assembly should note is that this proposal by Mrs Carnell arises from her attempts to have drafted legislation to carry out the very things she complains about, whereupon she discovered that the Government was already on the job and dealing with the matter. Miffed at that discovery, she then moved to try to rip a few political points out of the issue - political points that are not available. Of course, if she had a better understanding of the legislation process she would understand that this sort of legislation often does not rate as first priority. This legislation has not rated and will not rate as first priority in the current sittings.
Mrs Carnell's proposal that the Government introduce, as a matter of urgency, legislation to facilitate drugs and poisons scheduling by reference to the recommendations of the National Health and Medical Research Council is not a simple matter, although I did note in the course of debate on the issue that she changed her mind and urged the Government to introduce legislation "as soon as possible". We are quite happy to cop that request. "As soon as possible" is fine, but the words "as a matter of urgency" suggest that you want us to immediately instate it as a first priority piece of legislation over others which the Government has decided to install as a first priority.
Madam Speaker, I intend to move an amendment which deletes the words "That the Government introduce, as a matter of urgency" and substitutes the words "That this Assembly notes that the Government is preparing".
Mrs Carnell: Do you mean a do-nothing, a cop-out?
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