Page 215 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 23 February 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (5.08), in reply: One of the first mistakes that I made in relation to this legislation was to take Mrs Carnell at face value. On 29 January 1992 the ABC interviewed Mrs Carnell on the subject of smoking. The interviewer said:
You realise, Kate Carnell, that if you do become Minister -
a vain hope -
we will be ringing you very quickly to find out when the legislation is going to come before the house.
Mrs Carnell said:
Well, as you know, we felt very strongly about it even when we were in government. The voluntary code was an appropriate first step just to see how it went. It hasn't gone as well as we'd like -
as I said it would not -
so the obvious next step, as I think we even made the point at the time, was to move into legislation; so for us it is just a logical progression.
The interviewer said:
And you won't be bothered by the tobacco lobby or the restaurateur saying "You are going to destroy our businesses"?
"Not much", she should have said. She went on to say:
Look - honestly, Julie - people's health is substantially more important. People can still go outside and smoke as they have to when they come to have dinner at my place, so I don't think that stops people smoking if that's what they choose to do; but it is your right and my right to breathe clean air and it's also people's right to go outside and smoke and I think that's the way we should leave it.
She started off by saying, "Honestly, Julie". Come on! She went on to say that this legislation gives the Minister absolute power. That has been debunked. It is nonsense. It will put the responsibility on you - that is what will happen - and you will have to accept that responsibility if this legislation passes, because there will be an option for members to amend it or to reject it.
Mr Moore: After two to three months.
MR BERRY: Mr Moore chimes in with, "After two or three months". I can tell you, Mr Moore, that it would be quicker than that. But you are embarrassed too. I see Mr Humphries grinning over there. I will not worry about the web of deception that he tried to spin. I do not have time for that. Mr Moore, though, deserves a little time. Mr Moore, of course, is embarrassed. I think that if we had been a little kinder to some of Mr Moore's policies we would have done better on this one. I smell an element of tit for tat.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .