Speeches & Statements

It is a great privilege and honour to stand in this House as the representative of the people of Chisholm, an electorate in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I thank the people of Chisholm for the opportunity to serve them, a task to which I look forward with great enthusiasm. Chisholm was created in 1948 and was served from 1949 to 1970 by Sir Wilfrid Kent Hughes, a man who is still fondly remembered in the electorate today. From 1970 to 1980 it was represented by Tony Staley, a man whose advice I sought some years ago when I considered standing for Chisholm, and whose enthusiasm and encouragement is, in part, responsible for my coming to this House. More recently, Chisholm was ably served by Graham Harris of the Liberal Party of Australia and Helen Mayer of the Australian Labor Party. Following those people, I am cognisant of the hard work and excellent representation to which the people of Chisholm are accustomed.

One does not come to this place without a great deal of support from a large number of people, I wish to place on record my gratitude to the many people, both inside and outside the Liberal Party in Chisholm, whose tireless teamwork has enabled me to stand here today. These people have an unswerving belief in the role of the individual in society, in the ability of people to order their own lives and to make choices for themselves, and who have the desire to achieve justice by maximising the freedom and opportunity of the individual, rather than placing the duty of justice on authorities with the power to command people what to do. I also wish to acknowledge the role of my parents, family and close friends, in particular, Shelly Colman and Rob Collins, whose confidence and support gave me the courage to pursue my convictions rather than opt for a more secure existence, and whose hard work over a long period was an invaluable

One comes to this place with a certain amount of baggage which colours one's outlook and perspective on life. I grew up in a very close family, one that encouraged personal responsibility, that valued competition in encouraging the individual to achieve his full potential, and that placed greater value on satisfaction with personal effort in any endeavour, rather than the ultimate success or failure of that endeavour. It is with this background that I come here with a vision for the type of society in which I wish to live. Much is said about Sweden as a model for society, for co operation and consensus. Yet this is the type of society that has an inherently weak government, where it is very difficult for government to make a policy decision without the acquiescence of interest groups, and where the power of the pull', the ability to get one's own way, leads to a high welfare state where all groups must be accommodated, but where the individual outside those groups is powerless and forgotten. Such a society suffers the tyranny of the majority. This is not a free

In a free society, in the words of Walter Lippmann, 'the state does not administer the affairs of men, it administers justice among men who conduct their own affairs'. This 'power of the pull' is leading us to a society where powerful interest groups promote entrenched privilege, where anachronistic practices by labour and management continue unchanged, where rigid work rules, a legacy of an era of standardised mass production, remain protected, and where mature industries have more political sway than emerging ones. All this leads us along a road where social and economic fatigue erode our productive capacity. This is the Argentinean road. If we are to avoid the Argentinean road, it will be through the productive effort of ordinary Australians, who are often powerless and forgotten. It is these forgotten people - people in business, in professions and on the land — without strong business groups or strong trade union groups to speak for them, people who are working for their own security and happiness and that of their families, who are much of the dynamic, innovative and productive element of society.

It was out of a sense of balance that Sir Robert Menzies directed much of his energy towards these forgotten people. Today, these people are again being squeezed. Once again, out of a sense of balance, I believe that the energies of government should be directed towards providing an environment to give these people the incentive and motivation to pursue their goals, free of the hand of government, inasmuch as their actions do not adversely diminish the freedom of others. Of course, in a society not all will cope. I see no contradiction between a society that promotes competition and rigorously defends the role of the individual, and yet has compassion for and an understanding of those who will not cope or cannot compete. It was Menzies' view that 'industrial progress is not to be based on the poverty or despair of those who cannot cope'. That is a view which I hold.

I turn to two areas of concern. The first relates to our aging population. Currently 10 per cent of our population is over 65 years of age. By the time I reach retiring age that number will have increased by 56 per cent. Whilst services for the aged are improving, one area stands out as being of particular concern — that is, services to those who are physically fit but failing mentally. With age related dementia appearing as an increasing problem, services to this group are of great concern. Domiciliary services to these people, while improving, have a marked lack of nurses and other health personnel with psychiatric skills, skills which are necessary to properly advise and counsel a family on the difficulties and stresses associated with having an aged, demented person in the home. For the more seriously demented person — and that is 4 to 5 per cent of the population over 65 years — specialised hostels for difficult patients, particularly those who wander, are in short supply. Currently, many of these people are in psychiatric hospitals or nursing homes at about double the cost to the community. Such hostels do not require trained nursing staff but can be managed adequately by competent people with a minimum of in service training.

Finally, there is a great need for specialised nursing homes for seriously demented people who are physically well. Currently, such people are inappropriately placed in nursing homes, where they must be physically and chemically restrained, or in long term wards and psychiatric hospitals. In some cases, because of lack of knowledge or facilities, such people are treated in a manner the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would not tolerate for animals. From the onset to death from Alzheimer's disease, the average lifespan is nine to 10 years and many people would spend half that time in institutional care. In raising this issue, I do not see the solution as a greater call on government funds but rather as a change in attitude at a State and

Secondly, I wish to speak about the identity card. A great deal has been said in this chamber about the taxation and social security aspects of this card. These are two of the three main areas in which it would impinge on people's lives. However, it is the third area of use, in relation to medical services, which has received no debate, which is of particular concern to me — this area being, in the words of the Minister for Community Services and Health (Dr Blewett), 'the only relatively regular use that will be made of the card by most Australians'. Clause 53 of the Australia Card Bill requires that a recognised hospital notify the Health Insurance Commission of the identity card number of any person entering that hospital. Quite simply, this means that any person entering a specialised private hospital for treatment of alcoholism, for treatment of psychiatric or stress related disorder or to undergo plastic surgery, for example, will have the name of the hospital and the hospital stay recorded on a central computer.

That will be recorded even if the hospital and medical bills are paid for totally by the patient.

As a doctor I have indeed felt privileged — not in the sense in which that word is most commonly used by the detractors of the profession, but in the sense that one sees people when they are at their most vulnerable and one has the confidence and trust of people at such a time. There are few times in medical practice when one sees someone more vulnerable as an individual, or a family in more distress, than when a person needs treatment for alcoholism or a psychiatric disorder. Commonly, people move interstate because of the stigma involved. That will occur no more. Wherever a person goes, the government will know.

We will have the intrusion of government into the most personal, private and intimate aspects of someone's life. Quite frankly, it is none of government's business and it is very small consolation to suggest that there will be adequate privacy provisions. In recent years we have seen the privacy of the Health Insurance Commission computer.

The most recent example of which honourable members will be aware saw young women being interviewed at home and at work and their personal lives being brought before the courts merely because they had been referred to a doctor who was under investigation by the police. This aspect of the legislation is a major intrusion into a very intimate and personal aspect of someone's life. It really is the final insult that this piece of legislation places individuals as mere cogs in the corporate wheel of government. It will receive the contempt it deserves.

Finally, one comes to this House not just as a representative of an electorate but also as a representative of a party. While I have been a member of the Liberal Party for only a relatively short time, I have never seriously doubted the philosophy of the Party. For the reasons I have already mentioned, I am proud to be a member of the Liberal Party in this House. It is a party that offers Australians the opportunity to maximise their own productive effort and reward and to give a voice to the forgotten people while at the same time showing compassion for those who genuinely need the help of government. I look forward to my time in this House and I thank honourable members for the courtesy they have extended to me.