Page 3731 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 9 December 1992
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MRS CARNELL (3.49): I would like to focus on the health area.
Ms Follett: What about pharmacy?
MRS CARNELL: Is that not a surprise, Mr Berry?
Mr Cornwell: Nobody on your side does, Mr Berry.
MRS CARNELL: Thank you, Mr Cornwell. I want to look, just for a moment, at what progress has been made in this area. I think it would be appropriate for Ms Follett to listen to this because of a number of the comments she has just made. As I am sure Mr Berry is well aware - and possibly others in the Assembly - there are 15 pieces of first priority legislation on the legislative program in the health area. There are three pieces of second priority legislation and one third priority. Let us look at the first priority. Of the 15, how many does everybody think have been tabled? It is one. We have had one tabled and passed.
Mr Humphries: That is called slow-slow-slow-slow-slow.
MRS CARNELL: Yes. Which one that is is of interest as well. It is the amendment to the Drugs of Dependence Act. In case anyone has forgotten, and I am sure they have not, that is the methadone Bill, which was introduced after I introduced my methadone Bill.
Mr Humphries: What a coincidence.
MRS CARNELL: Is that not a coincidence? So, we have one piece of first priority legislation out of 15. Out of the second priority we have none, and we have none out of the third priority. So, we have one altogether - all up, one piece. It is interesting to go back to the beginning of Mr Berry's health ministry in this Government - back to July-August last year. At that time the following Bills were endorsed for introduction into the Assembly during the budget sitting - that is, the budget sitting last year, not this year; not the one we have nearly finished.
Mr De Domenico: So, we are talking about 18 months?
MRS CARNELL: Yes. On that list of legislation that was endorsed by the Board of Health, by the corporate executive, and so on, to be introduced at the budget sitting last year we had the Radiation Amendment Bill, which is still on the program - as a second priority now, but it is still there.
We also had the Food Bill. The Food Bill has been passed - one of the very few - but the Bill has been on legislative programs since 1990, so it did take two years for that to get up. When these Bills were endorsed for introduction in the budget sitting last year, to quote, "the Food Bill was in its final drafting stages". That means that Mr Humphries had got it to the final stages of drafting. From that time, it took Mr Berry a whole year to get it to the Assembly.
The third Bill on this list of Bills for the budget sitting last year was the fluoride Bill. The fluoride Bill was introduced by the Liberal Party in April this year and passed. The next Bill was an amendment to the Poisons and Drugs Act 1976; this is the scheduling by reference legislation. This is still on the program, as we know. Mr Berry has promised it time and time again. He says "You would not want to hurry these things" - something Mr Connolly should pay attention to.
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