Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Minister for Workforce Participation) Share this | Hansard source

No, they do not. If you read the transcripts and in fact speak to these advocates you will find that what they said, which we totally agree with, is that medical evidence should be key to a person’s job capacity assessment, depending on their condition. That is why this bill strengthens the medical information access issues. I understand that the member for Lalor is busy because she has an election that she is rushing around trying to campaign for! But this bill ensures that all layers of the assessment process have the same information. Do you get it? It is not about withholding medical information; it is about whether the job capacity assessor also has medical information that might have been submitted at a later stage—for example, when the individual decides to appeal a decision.

I understand that the member for Lalor has been involved in a lot of law cases before. Surely it is absolutely natural justice that the person who is seeking to have the very best outcome for their condition is comforted by the knowledge that all stages of the process have the same information to consider. That is what this is about. I know for a fact that the Mental Health Council, which I have worked very closely with, is one of the very close allies of the Howard government in producing some of our best mental health outcomes—for example, the Mental Health First Aid Kit—

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