Debates Day 2 - Wednesday 23 November 1994
Parliamentary Record 6
Debates for 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997
1994-11-23
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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DEBATES - Wednesday 23 November 1994 previous sittings, she said that, given my responsibility for health matters, I should take responsibility for the children who pick up head lice at schools and other places. She said that the government should be doing something about that. One wonders about the motives o f the member for Nelson in that regard and the extent o f responsibility that she might be trying to impose on parents. Certainly, I accept that, but there are legitimate roles for government to play in this regard. The members for Barkly and Wanguri wandered far beyond what could be considered the realms o f child safety. I will not go into those issues, but honourable members will be aware o f what I am referring to. In respect o f the report resulting from the survey undertaken at Royal Darwin Hospital, I am advised that Kidsafe will be preparing that in booklet form and it should be available soon. I believe it will be o f great use to parents and the organisations responsible for caring for children across the Northern Territory. It will provide them with baseline information in relation to issues o f safety and accident prevention rather than waiting to fix the problems after the accidents have occurred. I believe this debate has been a very worthwhile exercise. I thank honourable members for their contributions. I believe it was perhaps the first statement in this Assembly on child safety. I could not find any reference to previous statements, certainly not in recent years. This will assist to promote the cause and will provide further support to Kidsafe as we head towards the school holiday and Christmas periods. Hopefully, we will all watch our kids and ensure that they enjoy themselves over the Christmas period in a safe environment and that that care is extended well into the future. Motion agreed to. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AM ENDM ENT BILL (Serial 54) Bill presented and read a first time. Mr FINCH (Attorney-General): Mr Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The purpose o f this bill is to fill a gap in our legislation. Separate legislation to regulate the provision o f artificial fertilisation services is still in the policy development stage, but there is one issue that needs to be determined now. It was never intended that the provision o f artificial fertilisation services, by whatever means, should be a service that is generally available. It is not, and should not be. Since the introduction o f artificial fertilisation services in the Territory, the Department o f Health and Community Services has had clear-cut eligibility criteria recognising that the best possible environment for a child to be born into is a stable, loving relationship between a man and a woman. The service was established for couples where, following investigation, at least one partner appears to be infertile - in other words, for couples whose best endeavours to achieve pregnancy in the usual way have failed - or where there appears to be a risk of genetic defect that would be transmitted to a child 1829