Mary Henry (Independent)

A considerable amount of fanmail has been sent to all of us about the influence the Minister might have through her appointees over any newly formed Medical Council. It is important to note that this section means the Minister, personally or through appointees, will not give advice on the ethics or professional conduct of registered medical practitioners. I do not know how or why some people got involved in an expensive campaign of e-mails, letters and telephone calls. It was nice that some people were confident Senators would put a stop to what the Minister intended to do.

I welcome the section, but I regret that a considerable amount of distress was caused to Members to whom the letters were sent. The letters sent to me were polite. Given that I am not running for re-election, there was no good in threatening me about what someone might do at the next election.