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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (15 February) . . Page.. 7 ..

MR WOOD (10.57): Mr Speaker, pursuant to order, I present Report No. 4 of the Standing Committee on Health and Community Care, entitled "Report on Annual and Financial Reports 1998-99 for the Department of Health and Community Care and Related Agencies", together with extracts of minutes of proceedings. I move:

One of the more significant matters that emerged was the state of Aboriginal health in the Territory, in particular the extent to which drug use amongst Aborigines in the Territory is still uncertain. The committee made some recommendations in this respect - first of all, that there be a more accurate assessment of drug use amongst Aborigines and, secondly, that the departmental strategy on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health be expedited. The strategy is currently being worked through by the department. Since the committee's recommendation there has been more consideration of the matter by Mr Stanhope and Ms Tucker, and it is likely that the Health and Community Care Committee will carry on that interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Another longstanding matter for the committee was men's health. In a report some time ago the committee recommended that the MAN model in effective use in some parts of Victoria be trialled in the ACT. That was agreed to by the Government in response to an earlier inquiry, but as yet nothing very much seems to have happened about it. So one of our recommendations urges the Minister, Mr Moore, to report back to us on just how that MAN proposal is going. It seemed to the committee at the time that it was a very sound way of dealing with the issues of men's health.

There is a further matter that was of particular interest to me. In relation to the general health of the population, it seems to be quite important. This is a society increasingly interested in its own health. Every popular magazine you read, or every second book in the book stores, talks about health and how to improve your health, whether by fitness or by diet. It seems to me we have a contradictory situation in the community at large. I think most households would be looking at the diet that they present to themselves and to their families. Yet it is a society today that eats out, and fast food chains are enormously popular. They mushroom, and outlets increase in number and variety. In the past I was quite amenable to a fast food meal, but I am less so these days. I have a different interest.

It seems that in the future one aspect could play a big part in improving the state of men's health, and that is what fats are used in cooking in fast food outlets. The Chief Medical Officer of the Territory reported to us that for the most part it is animal fats, and everything we know says they are a problem. I believe most fast food outlets use those fats because they give a nice brown colour and a crisp feel to fried chips, and maybe they are also cheaper. If we want to improve the health of people in Canberra and across Australia, I think we should be looking very seriously at what cooking oils are used in those outlets.

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