Page 1595 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 19 May 1993
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Mr De Domenico: Are you the same as your Federal colleagues? Are you the same as Mrs Kelly?
MR BERRY: She is one of ours. We speak as one.
Mr De Domenico: One of yours? You speak as one with Mrs Kelly, do you?
MR BERRY: On Labor Party policy, you betcha! There is a distinct difference between us Labor Party people and you Liberal people opposite.
Mr De Domenico: So you support the privatisation of all the Federal things?
MR BERRY: No, of course I do not. The Government has a good record in the area of education and prevention programs to address cancer. It was the first Labor Government which established the Health Promotion Fund. The Health Promotion Fund directed a large percentage of its resources into preventive programs supporting both the Cancer Society and the Heart Foundation. Mrs Carnell, why could you not be generous enough to say, in your public screeching, that the Government has a good record in doing something about cancer? Why did you not say that? Why did you not say, "You have a very good record, but it would be even a little bit better if you added a cancer registry"? You did not say that either. It is disingenuous. Mrs Carnell's concern about cancer sufferers out there is - - -
Mr Cornwell: Why are you so sensitive, Minister?
MR BERRY: I am sensitive because of the misinformation which is being created by the Liberals - as if the only area of cancer treatment were a registry. There are a whole host of things going on. The Cancer Society received $65,000 from the Health Promotion Fund and is currently targeting smoking related cancers and skin cancer through its SunSmart and Quit campaigns - both good campaigns. The National Heart Foundation is also in receipt of grants from the Health Promotion Fund totalling about $87,000.
The Health Promotion Fund, through its sponsorship program, is able to link health and anti-cancer messages to a range of sporting and other activities - all resulting from initiatives of a Labor government. The education programs in schools link Health Promotion Fund sponsorship to a range of sports which carry healthy messages and information necessary for our children's future health. The Government has also initiated a special stop smoking fund of $200,000 in 1992-93. I am pleased to announce that three of the Cancer Society's applications have been successful and that they will be receiving a further $88,000 to support stop smoking campaigns. So the Government's record in establishing new initiatives and supporting established programs which aim to effectively prevent and minimise the impact of cancer is unprecedented.
It is fair to say that a cancer registry is something that the Government has to deal with, and we are dealing with it; but we are not going to deal with it by firing from the hip. We are going to deal with it in a proper way, and we will get to it. You cannot drop everything every time Mrs Carnell gets a bright idea about something. That is what she seeks for us to do. We will not drop everything just to deal with her bright ideas. It is all right to present in this Assembly motions which cannot be opposed in principle - - -
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