Mr. Ken Murphy:

When the Law Reform Commission report emerged, I remember participating in radio interviews. I think Senator Michael McDowell was the then Minister. The sense I get from the Government response to this, which is perhaps not surprising but consistent, is that it seems to be unenthusiastic about class action because the State tends to think that it would be frequently the defendant to class actions. I refer to the facilitation or encouragement of mass claims against the State in public health situations, for example. We have had obviously controversies and scandals and the requirement of each individual who might believe they have a claim arising out of the way in which a public health scheme has operated and the damage they felt may have been caused to them through negligence having to prove their individual case cannot be real justice. We believe there should be a better system. The class action system operates in other jurisdictions, but I have a sense that successive Governments may look askance at that from the point of view of economics rather than of justice.