Page 3141 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 12 September 1990
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Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, can we have an end to the question so that I can answer it?
MR MOORE: How are you going to protect people - I will be quite specific - in Weetangera?
MR HUMPHRIES: I suggest that if Mr Moore wants to know what Dr Kinloch's views are he should ask Dr Kinloch. I represent the Government's view on this matter and, as far as the children of Weetangera are concerned, I am going to be an absolute devil and require those little children to walk about 500 metres down a street to go through an underpass! That is the extent of the pain I am imposing on those children. I do not think - - -
Mr Moore: Mr Humphries, you do not know children and you are going to put their lives at risk.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Moore!
MR HUMPHRIES: I realise that that might be a bit tiring for some of them. It would be a little bit inconvenient and I apologise for that fact. But when the Territory faces problems of the dimensions of those it faces at the present time I am afraid we all cannot avoid those sorts of problems.
Food Hazards
MR STEFANIAK: My question is addressed to Mr Humphries in his capacity as Minister for Health. I refer to the Minister's participation in a food forum at the University of Canberra this evening on health risks associated with food additives and on nutritional labelling. Is the Minister aware of concerns expressed about risks to community health from consuming natural foods that do not contain preservatives?
MR HUMPHRIES: I thank Mr Stefaniak for his question and I acknowledge his enduring interest in food. I am aware of the concerns Mr Stefaniak mentions. Just because foods are natural, of course, does not mean that they are hazard-free. There are things called aflatoxins in peanuts, natural toxins in some fish, levels of heavy metals in a whole range of foods, and the bacterial contaminants of oysters. All these things are hazards in perfectly natural foods.
Mrs Grassby: What about Humphries' toxins to schools?
MR HUMPHRIES: I am going to ignore that interjection. There is no doubt, however, that natural foods that have not been modified by various additives or preservatives are usually the better option for consumers. Our modern society, used to convenience foods, demands freshness and
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