Page 3979 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 16 December 1992
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Medically Acquired HIV/AIDS
MR LAMONT: My question is directed to the Deputy Chief Minister in his capacity as Minister for Health. Will the Government be providing compensation to people with medically acquired AIDS?
Mrs Carnell: It was in the newspaper this morning. Go and read it.
MR BERRY: The Liberals opposite do not like to hear good news. This Government is full of good news and they hate it. All they want to do is cause trouble and disquiet, instead of accepting, with good grace, that mostly good things are happening as a result of the Follett-led Labor Government.
This is an issue on which there has been some political contention for some time. I think that most members of this Assembly at times have expressed a view about the issue. The Government has been particularly keen to get the matter resolved, but resolved in a way that is satisfactory to all of the parties. We have decided to request that all claimants with medically acquired HIV/AIDS register their claims with the Attorney-General's Department, and this includes claimants from deceased estates and those suffering from associated secondary infection. The Government's decision clearly demonstrates our willingness to recognise the plight of people caught up in this situation, and a lot of work has gone into coming up with the formula that we have decided upon.
Claimants will be able to negotiate a settlement with the ACT Government in conjunction with the Commonwealth on an individual basis, and any settlement will be based on the individual legal merit of each claim. Discussion of any settlement will also ensure that successful claimants maintain their Medicare benefits - an important feature because of the assistance that can be provided through Medicare. We do not want to see them without their Medicare benefits and in circumstances where they may not have private insurance and might have to call on private services which they cannot afford. We would like to ensure that they are not adversely affected by taxation liabilities, as well. Medically acquired HIV/AIDS is contracted through contaminated blood products, organ transplants and so on. About 500 such cases have been reported across Australia. The estimate is low in the ACT, but there is some suggestion that it might be around 10 or 11. The absolute number is not known, and we will not know until people come forward to the Attorney-General's Department.
The Government believes that people with medically acquired HIV/AIDS should be a priority group for compensation because they were treated in public hospitals and/or used blood products which were believed to be uncontaminated. These people had little or no choice but to utilise the medical service and blood products because the treatment was required to preserve life. Madam Speaker, as I have said, this has been a while coming, but I think that speed is not something that you take on as opposed to ensuring that you have a quality decision. I think that this is a quality decision which will serve the community well.
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