Page 4467 - Week 14 - Thursday, 1 December 1994
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MR HUMPHRIES: No; I am sorry. Mr Connolly can make out his case when he rises in this place. He can say that. It seems to me, Madam Speaker, very clear that the AIDS Action Council were talking quite directly about the amendment passed in the Assembly yesterday. Why should they put out coincidentally a release talking about an issue which is dealt with elsewhere in other legislation? Surely, they are talking about the Drugs of Dependence (Amendment) Bill passed yesterday in this place. Indeed, the second paragraph makes it perfectly clear. It says:
Dr Peter Rowland, a Canberra General Practitioner who specialises in AIDS care, said "Cannabis is an extremely valuable drug for relief of pain, anxiety and sleeplessness. I will start providing certificates for my patients as soon as I establish the necessary research protocol".
Is he saying, in fact, "I am going to Mr Connolly to get a capacity under section 32, authorisation under section 32, to start doing these research exercises."? No. Dr Rowland, surely, is talking about prescribing pursuant to the Drugs of Dependence (Amendment) Bill we passed yesterday. Is that not what he is saying? Mr Connolly can enlighten me about this, but I must say that it looks very much like that is the case. Dr Rowland does not mention going to the Minister for a certificate.
Madam Speaker, I would welcome the opportunity for the Minister to say something about this matter. He will have our leave to speak a second time or a third time on this matter if he wants to; but I am afraid that it does look very much as though the Minister was attempting to create an impression, to quite deliberately create an impression, in the first place, that there was no support by the AIDS Action Council for the position of the Assembly in taking the step we did yesterday; and, secondly, that there was open slather on the use and supply of cannabis in the Territory pursuant to the passage of that amendment. Neither appears to be supported by the evidence. I think that both things were abundantly clear to the Minister when that happened. I look forward to his comments.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General and Minister for Health) (4.26): Madam Speaker, I rise, more in sorrow than in anger, to speak to this motion of no confidence, although I would be entitled to be angry. I would be entitled to be angry at some of the outrageous aspersions that were cast on me during question time today. I would be entitled to be angry at Mr Moore's appalling attempt to politicise the issue of HIV and AIDS and people living with HIV on this World AIDS Action Day. I would be entitled to be angry; but, rather, I am sorry. I am sorry because Mr Moore, who does have a reputation, well earned, as a reformer in the area of cannabis law, has embarked on a course of action that has made him and the cause - a cause for which I have some sympathy - appear foolish. I told him that before he moved this amendment Bill. I told him that if he went down this path it would set back that cause many years. Unfortunately, he did not listen.
There are two heads to this allegation of misleading the Assembly. I presume that there are two. There was one in Mr Moore's case presented against me. Mr Humphries then introduced another allegation of misleading. No doubt, as we refute those two, people may come up with even more. It shows the highly political nature of this whole exercise.
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