Page 2652 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 1993
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of this Assembly is raised by arguing whether we should continue the historically severe restriction of a legally available service by preventing the Government from assisting in some small capacity and not focusing on how best to serve the interests of Canberra residents, especially women.
I would like to add that the range of services which will be offered from the Family Planning Association's refurbished City Health Centre premises will include vasectomies for men. This is a welcome move and it will complement the existing services provided by the Family Planning Association. They already provide a pregnancy confirmation service, contraceptive counselling, advice on avoiding sexually transmitted diseases, education programs, a resource library and many other services for clients.
Madam Speaker, I see this debate not as an attempt to remove the Government's prerogative to support private sector providers of services but as an attempt to continue to argue the question of the morality of abortion and to hold the line that ACT women are entitled to abortion services as long as they do not ask to have them provided here. That is not good enough. The ACT Government has adopted a rational, cost-effective and sensible solution to address the problem of a lack of abortion services for women in the ACT. Madam Speaker, while I do not argue that people who disagree with the provision of abortion services should actively support such services, I do ask that they respect the rights of other individuals to choose differently. I also ask that they support the right of women to make termination decisions in an informed manner, with adequate support and follow-up services available to them.
MR HUMPHRIES (11.53), in reply: Madam Speaker, in closing this debate let me deal with a couple of points which have been raised by other speakers. One point which was not really dealt with, I am afraid, by any of the speakers in opposition to this motion was the question of the relative use of health dollars in our ACT health system. Madam Speaker, again I emphasise the argument that if we are serious about discharging our responsibilities as members of this Assembly we need to look very carefully at this argument about what is the most valuable use of our health dollar. The Minister alleged blandly that there was an entitlement by the Government to choose this particular priority, to pluck it out of the air and say, "This is the one we want to pursue in the first instance". What the Minister has not done is address any of the other important issues - - -
Mr Berry: How can you adopt this line, really? You gave the tick to the highest - - -
Mr Lamont: Who supported the subsidy to the pharmacists at $80,000 a pop to close down so that the rest of them could make a quid? If that is not a direct government subsidy in the private sector, what is?
Mr Cornwell: Can we have some silence, Madam Speaker?
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, please!
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