Australian Newsletter Doctors Oppose Move To Fix Fees

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30058, 16 February 1963, Page 13

Australian Newsletter Doctors Oppose Move To Fix Fees

tßv FRANK PVDDICOMBE, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent] SYDNEY. are planning strong opposition to a move to peg medical fees throughout Australia. The move will be made in Canberra on February 26 at a meeting of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Council.

This meeting will be attended by representatives of the main health insurance funds from all States and senior officials of the Commonwealth Health Department.

In spite of a widening gap between contributors’ reimbursements and doctors’ fees, doctors generally are hotly opposed to their fees being fixed. In some parts of Sydney, doctors now charge 35s for a consultation, and the contributor to the medical health scheme gets back only 16s—about 43 per cent When the scheme was started it was stated that the difference between rebates and medical fees would be between 80 and 90 per cent. Controllers of some of the funds are known to be seriously concerned at the rising resentment of contributors caused by the widening gap. The New South Wales Minister for Health (Mr W. V. Sheahan) this week attacked the operation of the national health scheme. He outlined a case in which a man received a refund of only £25 on medical fees amounting to £7B 15s, and he said this was only one of a number of complaints made to him on the operation of the scheme. One Sydney suburban doctor, in urging the pegging of doctors’ fees for at least five years, said, “Doctors have never had it better." He said the multi-million pound national health scheme faced certain disaster unless the fees were pegged. * » ¥

Sydney Opera House After a long debate, the New South Wales Labour caucus this week approved a bill to authorise an increase from £4.5 million to £12.5 million in expenditure on the Sydney Opera House. The bill was approved after some members had said the Government was “stuck” with the opera house and must now finish it. One member said the £12,500,000 estimate did not include the cost of a parking station. This, and other “extras,” would probably bring the final cost to something like £l6 million. * * * Divorce Law Change From March 1, husbands or wives seeking divorce in Australia must disclose their own matrimonial sins in advance when starting legal proceedings. This major change in the uniform divorce law will, it is felt, help the Court in considering children’s best interests in custody matters. Respondents could have good grounds to contest divorce suits if they are made aware of lapses by their marriage partners. The rule will also apply to applications for the custody of children of broken mar-

riages. It is the first amendment of the Federal Matrimonial Causes Law, now in the third year of operation. The federal law previously did not require a petitioner to disclose an adulterous act when serving a petition on the other spouse. Formerly, discretionary statements (admissions of adultery by a petitioner) were placed in a sealed envelope and handed to the judge. Under the amended law, the judge will have power to make an order for the statement to be tendered in evidence, read out in operi court, or produced for inspection by another party at any stage of the hearing. At present most divorce petitions are uncontested, and the spouses against whom charges are made are rarely, if ever, present in court to learsi of the existence of discretionary statements. From March 1, however, a respondent, when served with a petition, will have notice that a discretionary statement has been filed by the petitioner. A respondent must also be served with a notice of a discretionary statement where adultery was committed after a petition was filed. Sydney divorce lawyers have welcomed the amendment to the law. But they also said the breadth of the amendment might create some difficulties in practice—and even some bad results. One prominent lawyer ex-

plained it this way: “There are two schools of thought about the merits of making discretionary statement public in custody cases. "Some believe it is a good thing that people who are being entrusted with the care of children should disclose their matrimonial lapses. "Others believe it is a bad thing that children may find out a parent has gone astray.” The lawyer said many divorce cases remained undefended because the respondent had no idea his or her spouse had committed adultery. The amendment might provide a respondent with a defence weapon he had not expected would be available to him. ¥ * * Spider Bit Pilot In great pain from a poisonous spider's bite, a pilot this week crash-landed his helicopter in a tennis court at Marrangarro, near Lithgow. The pilot, Army Lieutenant R. C. Hills, aged 25, put the helicopter down safely on the court which was surrounded by a 12ft wire fence and within an ammunition dump. Three officers helped the pilot from the machine and summoned medical aid. Lieutenant Hills was bitten on the thigh by a red-back spider which crawled into his clothes while he was carrying troops during an Army exercise. He was rushed to hospital, four miles away.