Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—It gives me great pleasure to briefly sum up on the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Bill 2010. I understand that it is the intention of the opposition to move a number of amendments to this bill. I will sum up this debate by first quoting Michael Moore, the CEO of the Public Health Association, who earlier this year referred to this legislation in the following terms:

This is vital legislation for anyone who is serious about keeping all Australians healthy and particularly the most vulnerable of our people.

This is a very important and timely reminder. I think the Minister for Indigenous Health touched on the potential for an agency to drive these sorts of reforms and deliver to the community. I noted the comments from many speakers on this bill and I want to thank the large number of people who spoke on it. It is clearly an issue that many people are passionate about. I know that the shadow minister spoke passionately about the need for more investment in prevention. We do not totally agree on the best ways to do that, but I do not doubt that people are determined to try to make a difference.

Unfortunately, the approach of the opposition to date has meant that an agency that would have been focusing Australia’s attention on prevention from 1 January this year has been delayed. We hope that it will not be delayed again when there are so many opportunities for us to be able to invest in sensible initiatives in the areas of obesity, alcohol and tobacco. Of course, there is the potential for the agency to grow over time and invest in many other preventative health measures. Dr Andrew Pesce from the AMA has said that this would:

… put momentum back into the prevention focus in Australia.

These sorts of endorsements are important ones, because the opposition want to paint this as a frolic by the government or as the government being interested just in establishing a new bureaucracy, for the hell of it. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. We believe this is a way of establishing an independent agency, separate from government, with its own budget to be able to drive important public health messages in partnership and collaboration with government, non-government organisations, consumers, industry and public health organisations.

We would like to thank the many people across the community who have worked with us to try and see this agency become a reality: the Public Health Association in particular, the Cancer Council, the Heart Foundation, VicHealth, Quit Victoria and the AMA—just to name a few who have been very supportive of the establishment of this agency. The non-government sector really have shown leadership in health prevention to governments of all persuasions and I want to pay tribute to their work.

Finally, I thank the many members who have made contributions in this debate. I hope that in this place today we will be able to say that two important pieces of health reform legislation were passed. Of course, this House passed the first piece of health reform legislation earlier today, establishing the Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. We hope the House will see good sense on this and be in that happy place again. In the spirit of working together in this new parliament, I indicate for the benefit of members that we intend to, and are prepared to, accept a number of amendments that have been put forward by the opposition. However we do not intend to accept all of them. I have had those discussions with the shadow minister. He is determined to put each of those amendments, as is his right, and we will speak briefly to those as they are moved. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

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