Page 234 - Week 01 - Thursday, 18 February 1993
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Mrs Carnell: Bloody-minded.
MR BERRY: And bloody-minded - in relation to the timing of the introduction of the Poisons and Drugs Bill. A letter of, I think, 12 June 1992 was mentioned in the course of debate. In that letter I said to a Mr Holder, who was the chairman of the ACT sub-branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, that it was hoped that the legislation would be introduced in the budget sitting, and this was achieved.
One of the main purposes of these amendments was to remove schedules from the Acts and regulations and, as has been pointed out, it was a complex piece of work. A substantial amount of work was required, and this is still ongoing, to prepare the new regulations needed to give effect to these changes. The delay was not caused by any deliberate delay in introducing the Bills, and I must say that my officers are a little agitated about this accusation.
Mr Humphries: Caught out.
MR BERRY: No. They are agitated about it, and rightly so, because the accusation is untrue. There is no spite or bloody-mindedness in this approach. It is a matter of the Government sticking to its priorities and dealing with matters appropriately. For somebody to come out and say, "Yes, we are - - -
Mrs Carnell: Are you saying that it was not drafted in June, when you said that it was?
MR BERRY: The statement goes on while I answer the interjections, Madam Speaker. If they want to keep ranging the questions at me I will keep answering them - with your acquiescence, of course. There was no deliberate delay in introducing the Bill. The Bill was introduced, as we said to Mr Holder we hoped we would. I said, "I am able to advise you that draft Bills have been prepared to adopt, by reference, the schedules".
Mrs Carnell: Yes; so it was drafted in June?
MR BERRY: What you should have done was place all the facts before the Assembly; that is, it was hoped to introduce these Bills in the budget sitting period of the Assembly, and we did. So I think we lived up to everybody's expectations except yours, Mrs Carnell.
MEDICARE AGREEMENT - FUNDING OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS
Ministerial Statement
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (3.13): Madam Speaker, I seek leave to make a ministerial statement in relation to the funding of ACT public hospitals under the Medicare agreement.
Leave granted.
MR BERRY: Madam Speaker, on 29 January this year I signed the new Medicare agreement in my capacity as the then Acting Chief Minister. The new agreement covers the period from 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1998. It contains a complex set of funding arrangements, as well as agreeing to further work between the
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