Page 3036 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 17 November 1992
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Music Office
MS SZUTY: Madam Speaker, my question without notice is to the Minister for the Arts, Mr Wood. There have been moves to set up an ACT music office in Canberra to promote contemporary music, particularly rock and other popular music forms. Without an office promoting Australian contemporary music in Canberra, young musicians in the ACT are unable to tap into the projects of the Ausmusic network which has been established in other States to promote Australian talent in the rock music area. Can the Minister inform the Assembly on to what extent the ACT Government is prepared to support the establishment of ACT music, and when it would see that help being forthcoming?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I am aware, as is Ms Szuty, of the developments in this area. I have no doubt seen the same people that she has in recent times. Indeed, I am doing a launch for them in some weeks' time. We give them at this stage strong encouragement, but there is not yet any money attached to that. In a short time I will announce the ACT arts grants for the coming year. Obviously they are not part of it because it is a very new body and is just emerging. We would like to do all we can for them, as we would for a whole range of bodies. There will be many other groups disappointed because they have not been able to receive grants this year. There are very few groups I do not support. We would like to do a great deal more than we can. I am continuing to meet with these people, and in every way that we can help them we will certainly do so.
HIV and AIDS - Notification
MR LAMONT: My question is directed to the Deputy Chief Minister in his capacity as Minister for Health. Can the Minister clarify the confusion surrounding the notification of HIV or AIDS in the ACT? Can he tell us what action the Government will be taking or already has taken?
MR BERRY: Madam Speaker, I thank Mr Lamont for the question. AIDS has been a notifiable disease in the ACT since 1983. There have been some differing views over the years about the notification requirements for people who have HIV infection but who have not developed AIDS. These conflicting views have resulted in some comment in the community. The Government has been concerned about that because of the effect that it has on people who might be living with AIDS and who might be contemplating seeking attention, or people who might consider themselves at risk and who might also be considering some advice from the medical profession and who might be concerned about taking those sorts of approaches in the light of any controversy which is kicked up in the political sense. I have been very mindful of that because of the effect that that might have on the overall campaign against AIDS throughout Australia.
As a result, we have acted on a recommendation from the HIV/AIDS Related Legislation in the ACT Review Committee and the AIDS Advisory Committee to sort out the difficulty. The ACT Government has amended the Public Health (Infectious and Notifiable Diseases) Regulations so that HIV is notifiable in all stages, including HIV category 4, known as AIDS. All notification will be in coded form so that individual privacy can be protected. The notification requirements are in line with the recommendations in the national AIDS strategy and the Intergovernmental Committee on AIDS working party final report which was ratified at the October meeting of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council.
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