Page 3597 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 19 October 1993
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It goes into how we deal with our elders, and this will be an important part of our planning and where we are going. More importantly, Madam Speaker, Mrs Carnell raised the issue of 50 per cent of the health budget being spent on health promotion and maintenance rather than on the treatment of illness. I think there is a growing understanding in the community of the difference between health care and sickness care. That is dealt with very well in this document. I quote:
Generally speaking people have access to a wide range of alternative health approaches.
More importantly, and contrary to what has been going on, first with Mr Humphries as Health Minister and now, the report says:
The hospital system is now beginning to break down into smaller more manageable units in order to return illness treatment to the community. The former centralisation of hospital facilities has been in reverse for some 15 years now.
So another 10 years of centralisation before we go back to a decentralisation process is foreseen. I am not saying that these are all the answers; I just accept the tone of the document. Something that I have a particular interest in, Madam Speaker, is drug consumption. The report says:
Generally drug consumption is strongly discouraged and general attitudes towards drugs are less permissive than in the last years of the last century.
I see that as a very positive thing, Madam Speaker. It continues:
The long term aim of society is that many drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis, should follow tobacco into oblivion.
Madam Speaker, the paper also makes it very clear that such drugs are dealt with in a reasonable and rational way of controlled availability rather than the system we have now. Interestingly enough, that is one of the areas in the Government response that I would like to draw attention to also. On page 26 of the Government response these words appear:
Use of tobacco and dependent drugs, although legal, is minimal.
I think that is a goal that many of us would be happy to see. Another small area of interest to me at the moment, Madam Speaker, especially as chair of the Select Committee on Euthanasia, is this vision mentioned on pages 18 and 19:
People with extremely disabling, terminal or life threatening illnesses can plan their deaths for a time and place of their own choosing. "Dying with dignity" is now a reality rather than a slogan.
It will be interesting to see, Madam Speaker, whether this does develop and come about. I do remind members of the tone of this piece of work. It says:
Life's major transitions are more likely to take place at home than in highly specialised institutions.
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