Page 914 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 17 June 1992
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restrictive, time consuming and distressing for women. As a result the great majority of women are forced to travel to clinics in Sydney for abortions each year. This situation is inequitable, and is not in the best interests of women's health.
Your petitioners therefore request the Assembly:
To repeal the ACT Termination of Pregnancy Act (1978).
Petitions received.
DRUGS OF DEPENDENCE (AMENDMENT) BILL 1992
The Clerk: Private members' business notice No. 1.
MADAM SPEAKER: I call Mrs Carnell.
Mr Berry: Madam Speaker, I wish to raise a point of order pursuant to standing order 156. In doing so, I would also like to refer to section 15 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act. Subsection 15(1) of the Act says:
A member of the Assembly who is a party to, or has a direct or indirect interest in, a contract made by or on behalf of the Territory or a Territory authority shall not take part in a discussion of a matter, or vote on a question, in a meeting of the Assembly where the matter or question relates directly or indirectly to that contract.
Subsection 15(2) states:
A question concerning the application of subsection (1) shall be decided by the Assembly, and a contravention of that subsection does not invalidate anything done by the Assembly.
Standing order 156 states:
A Member who is a party to, or has a direct or indirect interest in, a contract made by or on behalf of the Territory or a Territory authority shall not take part in a discussion of a matter, or vote on a question, in a meeting of the Assembly where the matter or question relates directly or indirectly to that contract. Any question concerning the application of this standing order shall be decided by the Assembly.
Madam Speaker, I raise that issue because of some potential embarrassment to this Assembly by Mrs Carnell presenting this Bill to change the Drugs of Dependence Act. Specifically, I refer to the proposed provision whereby the Bill seeks to allow pharmacists to prescribe methadone. Mrs Carnell, of course, is the president of the Pharmacy Guild in the ACT. Mrs Carnell also, as I understand it, conducts a pharmacy business. Directly, there is no contract in relation to this matter but what, in effect, is occurring is that Mrs Carnell is attempting to set up the circumstances where a contract can be made between the Territory and pharmacists.
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