AMA President, Dr Bill Glasson, Parliament House, Canberra - Health Legislation Amendment (Parental Access To Information) Bill 2004

GLASSON:    Look, the Government's proposal next week to increase the age at which parents can access medical records of their teenage children from 14 to 16, we're coming out very publicly today from the AMA, and I suppose from all doctors in Australia, to say we think this is a bad move. 

First and foremost we support the Australian family, we support the Australian family unit and we support a unit in which there's good communication between the teenagers and the parents concerned.

But the reality out there is that a lot of families have difficulties and teenagers - particularly the early part of your teenage years - is a difficult time both mentally and physically.  You've got a change in your body shape - body habitus - and there's all sorts of mental issues in relation to growing into a developing woman or a developing young man.

At times you can talk to your parents and, in 99% of the cases, children feel that they can talk openly with their parents.  But issues arise where the teenagers find they can't, and they often turn to other family members, they turn to friends, they turn to their schoolteachers and priests.  But more importantly they turn to their doctor.  These are the doctors that basically ultimately provide the long-term medical care for these young people into adulthood.

And I think the move by the Government to try and open up, I suppose, access of information to parents when teenagers go down in confidence to talk to their doctors about a whole range of issues is a backward step.

It's a backward step and it seems it will force these young teenagers from seeing their doctors, discussing important issues around mental and psychological matters and, I suppose, one of the key issues that worries me - particularly with our young people - is the one of suicide.

And if they've got nobody to turn to, and particularly if they feel as though they can't turn to their GP for fear that that information will be made public, I think it's a very backward step.  I think it's a bad legislation, I think it's a bad social policy and I really don't understand what the Government's trying to achieve by it.

QUESTION:   Tony Abbott in his past public comments has suggested that he sees it all in terms of teenage pregnancy and teenage promiscuity.  Is that a fairly narrow view of the situation?

GLASSON:    Look, I think that's very simplistic.  Obviously if young teenagers go down to talk to their doctor about issues of sexual intercourse, then obviously the first thing the doctor will say to that teenager is 'have you discussed this with your parents'?  And really try and educate the teenager concerned about the issues of unprotected issues of sex and intercourse, about having sexual intercourse too early and ramifications - not even with relation to pregnancy but also sexually transmitted disease issues but also mental issues, about the psychology of the whole issue.

And so I think it is a very simplistic approach and I'd like to think that we as a society can be far more mature in addressing issues around this most important group in our society.

QUESTION:   teenagers having more unsafe sex rather than less?

GLASSON:    Look, very much so, I think it has the reverse effect.  I think what will happen is these kids will go out and they will have unplanned sexual intercourse, and who do they turn to the next morning?  I can tell you what will happen.  These young girls will ultimately be going nowhere and end up pregnant and end up in some backyard abortionist having an abortion carried out in unsterile conditions, and can you imagine the implications of that?  Both on the young girl physically but also on the young girl mentally.

QUESTION:   Why do you think the Government's doing this?

GLASSON:    Look, there is this sort of family policy push that the government is behind at the moment, which I support.  I think the family unit is extremely important and we should be making sure that whatever we do with our sort of legislature that it actually supports the mums and dads and the family unit.

But in reality what they're doing here is it's going to have the reverse effect.  I think it'll be very divisive and if I thought by, you know, promoting this legislation somehow makes the family unit more inclusive, then we would support it.  But in fact it'll have the reverse effect, and I think it'll have an unfortunate effect on often young people who have got nobody to turn to apart from their local doctor.

QUESTION:   Have you had any discussion with Mr Abbott about that specific issue?  I know you were concerned that some teenagers may approach a doctor if they were being sexually abused either within the family or by someone else.  Have you discussed that specifically with Mr Abbott?

GLASSON:    I have.  The real issue, as you know, you can talk about the normal family unit but a lot of families out there, their poor old kids they get dragged up, they really do.  The family unit is not functioning and there are issues around domestic violence, there's issues around sexual abuse and there's issues around emotional abuse. 

And when that young boy or young girl turns - or has nobody to turn to, and particularly now that they can't turn to their doctor, my concern is obviously what ultimately will they do to themselves.  And, as I said, issues around self-harm or suicide is a really important issue and it's a growing issue amongst our young teenagers.  And I think you could say if we go down this line we'll just simply exacerbate the problem.

QUESTION:   Dr Glasson have you resolved the issue with the additional rebates for some chronically ill patients?  Is that now sorted out or is there still some detail to ...

GLASSON:    Well the broader, I suppose, approach that it has been sorted out.  Obviously the fact that this system will allow increased access to our chronically ill patients, to all sorts of allied health professionals we support.  And in view of the fact there's so much chronic disease out there, I think that the medical system has to make sure that they cater not only directly for their medical needs but a broader need around dietitians, you know, physiotherapists, dentists, etc. 

So I think the broad approach to how this will be rolled out has been agreed, but some of the finer details are yet to be signed off on.

QUESTION:   Dr Glasson, do you agree with your Queensland counterparts who say that the $3000 baby payment could lead teenagers to have babies just to get the money? 

GLASSON:    Look, on this initiative I just want to make sure that we're not going to throw the baby out here with the bathwater.  I think in reality this is a good initiative that supports family units - it supports families and it particularly supports young mums who often have financial difficulties at the time of the birth of the child. 

So I think to extend that to say that it's going to lead to a rash of young people racing out and having pregnancies is a bit too extreme.  I think it's something we need to monitor, if there is a trend in that direction then obviously we need to try and address that. 

So I think it's an initiative that needs to be congratulated, to try and support young families, as I say, particularly young mums and dads who struggle at that time.  But the reality of whether it's going to lead to any rash of people running out and having pregnancies for the sake of the $3000 payment is yet to be seen.

QUESTION:   Just on that earlier question, have you had discussions with Minister Abbott about this legislation and your concerns?

GLASSON:    Yes, I have, I indicated to Mr Abbott that we have major concerns about this legislation in the sense that it's not going to achieve what I think the Government wants it to achieve, and that's to get teenagers to talk to their parents.

Now for a teenager to make a decision to go and see their doctor to talk about an issue rather than talk to their parents, that's a major decision.  I mean these are young kids, you know, 13 and 14 year olds, who make a decision to go and see a GP, and they just don't do it on the spur of the moment.  They do it because they're under a huge amount of pressure, because they feel they can turn to nobody else.

And, as I said, the doctor is their friend.  The doctor will advise them on their best course of action, and the doctor will try to unify the family unit, not divide them.  And so I think it's a very short-sighted manoeuvre to try and, you know, open access which, I mean, simplistically when you say give parents increased access to information, we support that, but in certain circumstances we feel this to be contrary to the health of the young teenager concerned.

QUESTION:   Dr Glasson, despite Mr Abbott's attempt to have greater disclosure to parents he's clamped down on the release of bulk billing data by electorates.  Do you think Mr Abbott or the Howard Government is conducting a campaign of censorship by refusing Opposition requests for bulk billing data by electorates?

GLASSON:    Well, I mean, on the issues of, obviously, bulk billing or the bulk billing figures per se, obviously it's important we know what's happened with the level of bulk billing in the various regions to try and make sure that we address issues around access, and particularly in the lower socioeconomic areas.  And so I think it's important that the Government be open in providing that data so that we can actually assess what's happening in the various regions of Australia to make sure we've got the appropriate medical resources to provide.  And also that those people, as I said, who cannot afford to pay any gaps are appropriately picked up and covered.

I don't think there's any covert operation by the Government, I think it's probably - governments play politics, and I think that's what's being played out here.

QUESTION:   Did Tony Abbott make any effort to refine this parental access to information act when you raised the question, though, of family child abuse?

GLASSON:    No, I must say I have seen no indication of that at this stage.  I've indicated to the government that, as I said, if they can explain to me the benefits of what they're trying to do and how this will somehow improve the communication between young teenagers and parents, I'd be happy to support it. 

But to date they have not been able to explain to me how this legislation is somehow going to make the family unit stronger, and how it's going to help young teenagers who, for various reasons, have difficulty communicating with their parents across a range of issues.  And this is not only obviously issues that to you and I may seem very simplistic, but for a teenager it may seem very complex. 

And, as I said, we're trying to encourage young teenagers to see their GPs on a regular basis and form a relationship with their GP, into their future.

Ends