SeveredPsyche
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2001
- Messages
- 329
MEET THE PRESS
INTERVIEW WITH TONY ABBOTT, MINISTER FOR HEALTH
23rd November, 2003
...
MISHA SCHUBERT: Mr Abbott, Australia has a newly emerging public health crisis in both the areas of HIV and Hepatitis C. HIV transmissions are on the rise again in several States. Hepatitis C - independent experts commissioned by your government suggest 800,000 Australians will have the disease by 2020. Are you committed to checking these epidemics, and will you go down the path of more safe sex and more safe injecting messages to curb them?
TONY ABBOTT: Look, I will do whatever I can as a minister and we will do whatever we can as a government to try to help here. But in the end, a lot of these things are a function of personal behaviour and we can't by a magic wand as it were, change personal behaviour. I mean, the best way to avoid Hepatitis C is not to use illicit drugs.
MISHA SCHUBERT: But we changed behaviour in the '80s by encouraging safe sex practices. So are you committed to safe sex and safe injecting practices?
TONY ABBOTT: Look, I am committed to continuing what the Government is doing in this area, but I do make the point that if we want to avoid these sorts of epidemics, personal behaviour matters as well.
BRIAN TOOHEY: But, one area of personal behaviour is things like wearing a condom and yet the Pope, for example, is strongly opposed to that and things like HIV...
TONY ABBOTT: I don't think he needs to. (laughs).
BRIAN TOOHEY: Alright, but he's also preaching that message to millions of people in Africa who are ending up with HIV. Is that a responsible sort of example of personal behaviour?
TONY ABBOTT: I don't want to go into what the Church might or might not be preaching in Africa. But certainly, here in Australia, the best way to avoid getting Hepatitis C is not to use illegal drugs, not to inject yourself with things which are illegal. I would urge people to take the same hardline view on that kind of law breaking as we do on other kinds of law breaking.
MISHA SCHUBERT: But your government has been advocating that approach for seven odd years now...
TONY ABBOTT: And it's working. And it's working.
MISHA SCHUBERT: ..and transmission rates are going back up. Hasn't it failed?
TONY ABBOTT: Well, certainly in other areas it's working very well. For instance, heroin deaths have dropped from nearly 1,000 a year to about 300 a year in the last few years thanks to the 'tough on drugs' message. So, I think we can get a message out there - personal behaviour does matter, and frankly, there are things each of us can do to avoid the risk, or to reduce the risk of getting these kinds of diseases.
PAUL BONGIORNO: But isn't one of the problems in the HIV area is that the safe sex message seems to be diluted as people have become complacent, and that's adding to the increase?
TONY ABBOTT: Well, people shouldn't be complacent, obviously. I mean, these diseases can kill you, and people should not do things which are likely to increase their risk of getting these very serious and potentially fatal diseases.
PAUL BONGIORNO: So, are you saying that money for a renewed or revisited public education campaign won't be available?
TONY ABBOTT: No, I'm not saying that at all. The Government spends hundreds of millions of dollars on these sorts of issues. But in the end, 'just say no' is probably a pretty good message to illegal drug use.
PAUL BONGIORNO: It doesn't seem to work, though, does it?
TONY ABBOTT: Well, um.. lots of things don't work perfectly.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Human fallibility, though.
TONY ABBOTT: Yes, this side of eternity, Paul, we all suffer from that. Original sin is a serious problem in our make-up. But the fact is, we can't give up on the message that people need to take responsibility and that personal choice, counts.
PAUL BONGIORNO: We're right out of time. Thank you very much for joining us today, Health Minister Tony Abbott and our panel, Misha Schubert and Brian Toohey. Until next week, it's goodbye from Meet the Press.
Full Transcript.
What a legend. This guy has all the answers.
He must have been seriously wasted to have come up with some of those responses.