Page 3209 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 21 September 1994
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MR STEVENSON: It was mentioned before that there are some 30 amendments. I agree that, when a committee has suggested certain legislation, the Government should go through the process of looking at its suggestions and making comments or amendments. I think that it would be a good idea if, as a principle, amendments were tabled in this Assembly at least seven days before they were to be debated. This is a standard situation. It is something that we should do.
Mr Connolly: We circulated them last week.
MR STEVENSON: I mean tabled, so that they are on the table. Anybody can understand that.
Mr Moore: They were tabled last week.
MR STEVENSON: All of them? We know full well that some amendments are only minor, but others can have a major effect on the legislation that is before the house. If that process were followed, we would not have people saying that there are too many amendments or that they have not had time to look at them.
Let me turn to the definitions. Mr Kaine brought up the point about "direction" meaning a written or oral direction. I also have concerns about an oral direction. While there are safeguards with a written direction, and they appear to be adequate, I do not believe that there are the same safeguards with an oral direction. Members have the opportunity to amend these definitions and the clauses in the Bill that allow for an oral direction. When I first looked at the definition, I thought that two doctors or a doctor and a nurse could say that they heard the person give an oral direction. But there would be no proof that that had happened. I see that as a difficulty.
I referred earlier to the definition of medical treatment. I would be interested to hear Mr Connolly's statements on the meaning of "any other medical procedure". He made a number of general points about the amendments; but that one is undoubtedly a wide statement. "Any other medical procedure" could be held to be just about anything that goes on in a hospital that has to do with the treatment of a patient. I have some concerns that "health professional" could be limited to a doctor and a nurse. Mr Connolly said that they looked for the perfect definition but such things cannot be found. It is not a matter of finding the perfect definition; it is a matter of finding something that would encompass what we want to do. The point that I make about medical treatment is one that we could look at.
I have a number of concerns about the Bill. I am concerned about how it could be used. We would do well to tighten some of the definitions. As members know, I vote according to what I perceive is the expressed will of the majority of people in this community. There is no doubt that the majority of people support the withdrawal of medical treatment even if it is considered vital to support life. I was most concerned about writing the survey question, as I always am. It did not just ask whether people should be able to
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