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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3739 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

there are pockets of insurance market failure that will persist for some time. On the other hand, a new entrant has appeared, IAG, and a new product, the group scheme, is about to be released.

Medical indemnity has continued to be a difficult area. The Commonwealth recently announced a support package for doctors. However, this is a stop-gap measure, with a number of shortcomings that the Chief Minister has already exposed. On behalf of the ACT, I raised a matter of importance in last week's ministerial agenda involving a new way of looking at long-term care and treatment of catastrophically injured people.

In relation to the issue of long-term care costs, the heads of Treasury insurance issues working group will undertake a comprehensive review of current arrangements and possible alternatives, commencing with the expeditious collection of the relevant data and analysis on the nature of the problem for discussion at the next ministerial meeting.

Mr Smyth: Oh, data collection.

MR QUINLAN: This is the collective ministers and the collective states, Mr Smyth, and I think that they have demonstrated so far that they have acted in a very sensible and collegiate manner, where it is possible. The government will address medical negligence law reform in stage 2 of its Civil Law (Wrongs) Act reform package.

Professional indemnity is a growing area of concern. There was considerable discussion at last Friday's summit. Ministers agreed, amongst other things, to consider the Commonwealth's CLERP 9 proposals with respect to proportionate liability for auditors. But, again, we need to be sure that the possible victims are not the ones that pay the total cost of this crisis.

As for future action, the Chief Minister and I have instructed our departments to proceed with stage 2 of the government's Civil Law (Wrongs) Act reform package and to present it to cabinet as soon as possible. The objective of stage 2 is to create transaction cost savings in the administration of public liability personal injury claims, while protecting the rights of claimants to just compensation. These instructions include consultation with key participants.

Discussions have commenced with the lead provider in the group insurance scheme to examine actuarial characteristics of our stage 2. Discussions will be held with the local medical profession early in December to examine stage 2 proposals as they apply to medical negligence. These discussions have been ongoing since July. However, the December meeting will encompass the government's commitment to appropriate consultation before presentation to cabinet.

The latest joint communiqué represents the strong general appetite for continued tort law reform amongst the Commonwealth and our state colleagues. More states are contemplating enactment of critical areas of the Ipp report on the law of negligence. Some elements of the Ipp report were addressed in the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act recently passed by the Assembly, but let me say, as an aside, that the Ipp report overall is genuinely the conservative view of what ought to be done. It is a collection of measures that universally limit the access of people to compensation.

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