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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Thursday, 1 July 2004) . . Page.. 3185 ..

I intended to move an amendment that would ensure that the amendment made last week to the Pharmacy Act that prevents pharmacies from operating on, partially on or within the premises of a supermarket remained in effect. I was concerned, following the government’s opposition to this amendment, that the government would not include the amendment in the pharmacy schedule or in regulations relating to pharmacy ownership.

That was of very serious concern for me and, whilst I realise that this amendment would not have sat nicely in the Health Professionals Bill, I did feel that it was necessary. I have, however, been assured by the government—specifically by Minister Bill Wood, the Acting Health Minister—that that will not be the case. I thank the acting minister for giving me the time today to reassure me on that.

I am further comforted by the fact that the Acting Minister for Health will put that on the record. I am pleased to see the government put on the official record its commitment to matters recently decided by the Assembly, including the decision by the Assembly to prohibit pharmacies from operating on the premises of a supermarket. That is good enough for me. Therefore, I will not be moving my proposed amendment. Once again, I thank the acting minister, Bill Wood, for reassuring me that the government would not do anything to repeal the amendment under the Pharmacy Amendment Bill of last week.

MR WOOD (Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Arts and Heritage, and Acting Minister for Health) (5.43): I thank members for their contribution to the debate. I will be proposing a number of amendments that I believe will take up some of the concerns expressed. As well as that, there will be amendments from Ms Tucker and Ms Dundas that the government will be supporting.

It was the intention in introducing the bill to allow the Assembly the opportunity to consider the provisions of the bill along with those of the Health Professionals Legislation Amendment Bill so that we could debate them at the same time. This bill replaces the current laws relating to health professionals. As you know, there are some 10 acts; so the situation is quite complex. More significantly perhaps, some 8,000 people from 13 professions are registered annually as a result of the laws that exist.

The bill proposes the consolidation of the existing health professionals legislation under one act and one lot of regulations. The new act will contain detail in relation to core legislative principles and structures and will be supported by a health professionals regulation containing the necessary administrative detail. Review of the territory’s health professionals laws was commenced in 1999, so the process has been a long one.

The regulatory approach in use in the ACT is based on a model for health professionals legislation that was first used in the 1930s. There is now increasing recognition by stakeholders that our legislation has failed to keep pace with contemporary expectations of good practice. In proposing the upgrading of this legislation, we have been careful to retain those features that have proved themselves over time.

This legislation will continue to support the concept of professional self-regulation through the boards. Involvement of health professionals in their own regulation is essential as those professionals are best positioned to make assessments of the clinical

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