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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (2 March) . . Page.. 486 ..
MR MOORE (continuing):
Mr Rugendyke, I am disappointed. There is a difference of opinion here, I understand. I would like to spend more time talking to you about betterment. It seems to me such a fundamentally sensible proposition that a landlord is entitled to capital gains and that in this case the community is the landlord.
I know the opposite position. I understand where my ministerial colleagues come from. They have a much more laissez-faire approach and say, "You are entitled to make whatever money you can out of a proposition". I remind my colleagues that they would not say what they are saying if they were the landlord and they would not say it to landlords, the very same people who are saying it to us.
Debate (on motion by Mr Smyth )adjourned.
MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (11.07): Mr Speaker, I present the Health Professionals (Special Events Exemption) Bill 2000, together with its explanatory memorandum.
Title read by Clerk.
MR MOORE: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Mr Speaker, the ACT, for very good reasons, has statutory provisions related to the competence and quality of health professionals who provide services to territory residents. Many of these providers are in occupational groups that require registration against quite demanding entry and conduct standards. Those who developed the Territory's health professional registration requirements did so with a view to ensuring high standards of health care provision from practitioners who have long-term commitments to this community. In summary, the laws say that to practise in one of the 12 health disciplines in the Territory the practitioner must be registered against nationally recognised standards.
The original legislators would not have anticipated a contemporary scenario where the ACT would be host to international events with participating visitors being accompanied by their own health care staff. As it stands, the ACT health professional registration Acts are quite unyielding to such occurrences. Unless visiting overseas health professionals satisfy the ACT's requirement for professional registration, they are not legally able to provide health care services to anyone, including visitors to the ACT.
It is a far from satisfactory situation to ban the practice of a visiting overseas health professional who is simply in the ACT to provide treatment to a restricted group of visitors who are themselves here for a one-off special event. In these circumstances, there is no need to invoke the safeguards and extensive registration requirements contained within the health professional registration Acts.
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