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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (21 June) . . Page.. 2336 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

During recent years this area of the law has been subject to extensive debate and controversy. For example, members will be aware that a particular issue to emerge during the past few years has been the practice of issuing subpoenas requiring counsellors to produce their own notes of interviews with sexual assault victims. Access is then sought to the notes so that defence counsel may cross-examine the complainant on anything which she or he might have said to the counsellor during confidential sessions. The Commission has tackled this and similarly difficult issues head on, and indeed I note that the Commission has recommended in its report that the ACT should adopt a form of sexual offences counselling immunity.

The government will now examine the commission's report in detail and provide a formal government response to the Legislative Assembly. The ACT Law Reform Commission has produced a comprehensive report on this difficult area of the law, and I commend the commission's report to the Assembly.

Papers

Mr Moore presented the following papers:

Information bulletins-

Calvary Public Hospital-Patient Activity Data-March and April 2001.

The Canberra Hospital-Patient Activity Data-March and April 2001.

Health, Housing and Community Care-Standing Committee

Report No 9-government response

MR MOORE (Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services) (3.33): For the information of members, I present the government response to report No 9 of the Standing Committee on Health, Housing and Community Care on the inquiry into the 2001-2002 draft budget for the Department of Health, Housing and Community Care, which was presented to the Assembly on 29 March 2001. I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

Mr Speaker, I seek leave to have the tabling statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The tabling statement read as follows:

Mr Speaker, I present the Government Response to Report No.9 of the Standing Committee on Health, Housing and Community Care on the Inquiry into the 2001/2002 Draft Budget.

The Committee's report contains twenty three recommendations, the majority of which call on the Government to take on board recommendations contained in submissions provided to the Committee by community organisations and individuals.

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