Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much. He talked about how valuable they are, and that is a good thing. We should have that discussion; we should have that argument. He then made the point that the MRFF would give certainty to the research into the use of cannabinoids. We now have a politician standing up in this place saying that we have to have this fund, that it is going to give us a billion a year and that research into cannabis related products will have certainty. A politician has made that point. That is my point: we have to remove the political process from decisions about where health and medical research funds are applied. We cannot leave it to politicians. We cannot leave it to a public campaign about a terrible, horrible, difficult circumstance that affects a group of people and the research program being elevated because of the political or media attention rather than the veracity of the application. That is why Labor will be moving these amendments.

Our amendments also go to preserving the health and hospital fund as an independent fund. Labor established the Health and Hospitals Fund. It has delivered marvellous facilities around the country, and I will go to those issues when I get to move those amendments. Labor's amendments also unmanned the bill so that the health minister will make decisions about the financial assistance that is provided from the medical research Future Fund special account following recommendations by the Australian medical research advisory board and taking into account the Australian medical research and innovation priorities rather than the minister simply taking into account the advisory boards recommendations in making any funding decision. That is the substance of the amendments that we have made. I look forward to hearing the argument against them.

Let me also go to Senator Lambie's question that Minister Cormann has answered—you have, Senator Cormann, answered it technically, but I would like you to list for Senator Lambie so that she is very clear about what the measures are that have passed and not passed; and also those measures that do not need to come before the parliament and that the moneys have been identified as going to the Medical Research Future Fund. Because, Senator Cormann, not all of the measures that have been identified to fund the MRFF do have to pass the parliament. I will ask you in detail for the list of those at some stage.

To conclude, I remind the chamber that Labor absolutely supports and has shown by our deed the investment in medical and health research in our country, but this mechanism has been messy. This process has been untidy at worst, and we are trying to do our bit to improve it. I encourage the minister to reconsider his lack of support for our amendments.