Mr DEAN ( Windermere ) - I, too, commend the member for bringing the matter forward. We did have some discussion on this; it is a very important and significant matter that needs to be resolved quickly. It has gone on and on for an incredible amount of time and is quite an unbelievable situation.

I think it is very clear from the attention that this matter has received, that there is great concern about it. The Examiner has been full of comments on this issue since it commenced back in about March this year. There has been no relief at all. Then we had the rallies at Scottsdale that were so well attended. People do not attend those rallies unless they are passionate about an issue. Senator Guy Barnett raised this issue in Canberra and made a very good speech in relation to it, demonstrating his concern for what was happening in Scottsdale, and for Dr McGinity. There were continued discussions in the lower House in question time in the lower House, and there were questions in this House. It has just gone on and on. One would have thought that there would have been a desire to finalise it quickly.

The member for Rosevears mentioned -

Sitting suspended from 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.

Mr DEAN ( Windermere ) - At the lunchbreak I was talking about the attendance today of people from the north-east and the publicity already given to this matter.

Mr Finch - You were about to give me a mention, the member for Rosevears.

Mr DEAN - That is right, I was too. The member for Rosevears referred to the audience that we have here today. I think that it is true to say that we would not have had the large number of people travelling from Scottsdale down here for the purposes of being present during this motion if the feeling was not very strong and if they did not feel that this matter had not been treated fairly. That is the more important issue. Very clearly they have espoused a position of fairness and they are clearly here today for the purpose of listening to the debate and to see how it pans out. It is wonderful to see them all here and I wish them all a very safe trip back to their home at the end of the day or when they return.

I was trying to find the words to cover this, but I do not think that I can find words strong enough. To suspend a person with what we have identified as scant detail - I have not seen that detail and perhaps I am remiss in not having a look at it or trying to get it, but I accept what the member for Apsley has said, it was scant detail, it was not set out, it was not clear and it did not identify a clear way forward.

To suspend a person on scant detail and to do it by way of fax is absolutely bizarre. I take the word from a discussion at lunchtime. It is absolutely bizarre, to say the least. By way of interjection I referred to my position and where at least I was afforded the right of a telephone call. I was sitting in my office with the day passing by, making decisions that I had to make and probably making some that I did not have to make, and probably making some wrong ones, when all of a sudden the phone rang and the caller on the other end of the line from Hobart said, 'You're finished!'. That is the way that it occurred.

Mr Parkinson - A pretty clear message.

Mr DEAN - It was a pretty quick message. I attempted to have some discussion, but that ended fairly quickly as well.

Mr Martin - What has happened to that person?

Mr DEAN - That is interesting! That person is not working at the present time. I think it suffices to say that.

I cannot imagine how Dr McGinity would have felt, to have been sitting in his office, home, or wherever it might have been when he received this fax message. I suspect that he would have had to read it three or four times to believe it, and to understand what was being said about him and his position. It would have been absolutely traumatic. Then he would have to face talking to his family about that as well. It would have been devastating to say the least.

With the publicity and the concern that has been demonstrated by people right across Tasmania - not just in the Scottsdale area, but right across Tasmania - I would have thought that they would have now sat down and simply said, 'This is of the highest priority and we will determine this matter one way and or the other in the quickest possible time'. That has not occurred. It has been going on since March of this year. Madam President, here is a man being hung out and still no determination and still no finalisation. What is happening at the present time? What is happening to expedite this? I do not know of anything that is happening and I would have thought that we would have been given more information - or at least the member for Apsley would have been informed - on where this matter is at the present time. I just find that absolutely baffling, to say the least.

There is no doubt that the Medical Council of Tasmania have a lot to answer for here. Whether they will answer at the end of the day, I am not too sure. It seems to me that they have said, 'We have the authority. We have the power to do this and we are going to do it our way', without any real consideration to the doctor it affected.

Where was the compassion in this? Absolutely none. No compassion was demonstrated at all. Here is a doctor who has worked for decades in a rural area and provided very good service over a very long period of time. If you are going to treat people with that sort of background in this way, it really does not say too much for our up-and-coming doctors who are finding their feet and endeavouring to get the experience that they need to perform in these areas. It really does not enthuse, I would think, doctors about going to a rural area. Why would you go into a rural area in all of these circumstances?

I have been told and advised, Madam President, that there is not a patient in that area who has made a formal, written complaint in this regard. That is the information that I was provided with. I find the situation preposterous, to say the least, and I just wonder where we are going with it.

This has gone on, as I said, for a long period and with enormous strain on not only Dr McGinity but also his family and friends. That is important. Once again, I relate it back to my position and the devastation it caused to my immediate family. Exactly the same situation would have occurred here as well. It is not just the person but it is also those other persons who are close to them that are extremely affected as a result of this, with no real consideration.

We have heard about the financial side of it. Dr McGinity is the type of person, in my view, for whom the financial side would be secondary. His concern would be for his patients and the welfare of the people in Scottsdale. He would give it very little consideration, but there is a huge financial cost to this.

His reputation is tarnished. Will he ever be able to get his reputation back to where it ought to be? Unfortunately it is very difficult once these sorts of things happen. It really baffles me.

I understand that, to bring this matter forward, there was an issue involving the transfer of a patient to a hospital. I understand that there was some intervention there and that patient did not go to hospital. I have not gone into that, and I have no intention of going into that. It does not serve any real purpose for me to go into that at this stage and I do not intend to. I just have real concerns with it.

I must say too, originally I did not intend to become involved in this matter, as a lot of us do not become involved in matters that arise in another locality. As a matter that was primarily affecting the member for Apsley, I tried to stay away and keep it at arm's-length, but I could not do that because, I was, probably like other members in this House, receiving contact from not only people in Scottsdale, but from people around the State, in relation to their concerns about this issue. That is exactly what happened to me. I received a number of e-mails, I received a number of telephone calls and I had a number of personal meetings with a people as well asking me to stand up and show some concern for what was happening in Scottsdale. Hence the reason I took it up and I spoke with the member for Apsley who is sincere in her approach to this matter and has worked very hard on this the whole time. In fact, she has talked about it continuously, about the poor situation that has arisen at Scottsdale.

Madam President, I am not going to reiterate what has been said by other members; I do not think that helps, other than to simply say that I cannot sit back and allow this to go without something occurring, something being said and I would urge the medical authorities and the association or the Medical Council of Tasmania to get off their seats, to get on with this matter and get it finalised. I do not know how they get their investigation team together but one would have thought in this instance they would have brought them together very quickly -

Ms Forrest - It should be in every instance, not just this one, where there is this sort of situation; it should be done in a timely manner.

Mr DEAN - Yes, you are right but I would have thought that they would have said to hell with the expenses; there is a lot more involved in this than that and it would have been given a number one priority to fix. I will support the motion moving forward and I feel very sorry for the family, what they have had to go through, and one can only hope that this matter is resolved quickly and in the best interests of Dr McGinity and the people and patients of Scottsdale.