"FACTS IGNORED."

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 155, 4 July 1938, Page 13

"FACTS IGNORED."

REPLY BY DOCTORS.

HEALTH PROPOSALS.

DR. JAMIESON'S COMMENT

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, Sunday.

A reply to the latent statement by the Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, regarding the Government's social security proposals was made to-day by the president of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association, Dr. J. P. S. Jamieson. Dr. Jamieson said it was instructive to note that, after having previously declared that w 'the particular nature of the proposals of the bill will not l>e made known until it is introduced into Parliament, and when that is done the medical profession will have precisely the same opportunities as any other section of the community to study it." the Prime Minister was now endeavouring to escape from the position he had got himself into by asserting that "the facts seemed to him to prove" that the Government had sought the co-operation of the medical profession in advance.

''The Prime Minister." continued Dr. Jamieson. "'then cited the activities of the Health Insurance Investigation Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. D. (I. McMillan. MP., the detailed discussion that had taken place between the Minister of Health and the Minister of Kin a nee and representatives of the medical profession, and, finally, the evidence given by the medical profession before the Social Committee. 'Nothing more,' the Prime Minister added, 'could be done." ''This is quite a different attitude from that taken up by Mr. Savage in his first statement, but it still ignores the facts, and must not be allowed to cloud the issue." said Dr. .lamieson. "The point made by the British Medical Association is that the Covernment never submitted any concrete proposals to the association for practical advice and criticism, ami still docs not propose to do so. although the bill is about to be brought down almost immediately, and it concerns such a vital issue as the general health of the people of the Dominion.

" Nebulous Proposals." '"The discussions that h;*ve taken place ill the past have only been upon proposals of the most nebulous description, and nothing- -definite has ever been advanced by the (Jovernment upon which the association could advise it. That this is eorreet is proved by the Prime Minister's own statement on Tuesday last, that the hill had not yet come befrtee the Cabinet, and that in these circumstance* it is quite unreasonable for the association to expect a copy of the bill, or any specific information concerning its contents.

"Now, Mr. Savage asserts that 'the facts seem to "him to prove' that the Government has sought co-operation. How can he possibly expect the public to accept that, in view of his previous declaration just quoted?

"The difficulty of the association in the past has been to get anything definite from the Government upon which it could give sound advice and criticism. Now, when the Government has finally decided upon something definite, it declines to submit its scheme in confidence to the association for advice and criticism. If that represents 'co-opera-tion,' then surely Mr. Savage must have a different understanding of the term.

"In declining to furnish the association in confidence with its scheme or an advance copy of the bill for advice and criticism, the Prime Minister declared: 'No one outside the Cabinet has a right to know the contents of a bill until it has been brought down before Parliament.' I have already pointed out that a draft of the present Government's Education Amendment Bill has been in the hands of those interested in education for months past, and subjected to public criticism."

Dr. Jamieson quoted an extract from the speech of the Governor-General, Viscount Gal way, at the opening of Parliament in reference to law reform, and added: "Here, the active co-operation of the legal profession ia enlisted by the Government in the actual drafting of the bill, and the legal profession is doing that before even any member of. the Cabinet has seen it. The rule now laid down by the Prime Minister is thus quite new. It m tin fortunate, however, that it should first be applied when the health of the people is at stake, and in order to frustrate co-operation with the medical profession, which alone can give effect to the Government's proposals.

Consultation Anticipated. "Regarding the Prime Minister's reference to Dr. McMillan's visit to Nelson, our stenographic record of Dr. McMillan's meeting contains nothing resembling the statement attributed by Mr. Savage to one doctor attending. Some personal and friendly remark to the speaker of the evening, however, after the close of the meeting, may have afforded ground for the statement, but the record of the meeting does show the following statement by Dr. McMillan: 'Provided the medical profession will treat it as confidential, we are quite willing to submit the bill to it before its introduction to the House. If, on the other hand, they do not agree to that, we will be very reluctantly obliged not to submit it to them, but I think you will agree that it is to your advantage and to ours to peruse it and make recommendations.'

"Our anticipation of being consulted by the Government," Dr. Jamieson concluded, "was based on statements, such as the above made to the profession by Dr. McMillan himself. Now that consultation is refused. What hope is there, then, of adequate consideration of a measure of such importance being given by the Cabinet, by Parliament, by the profession, or by the people during the manifold distractions of a pre-election session?"