Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to provide a response to the order for production of documents regarding chemotherapy treatment moved by Senator Cormann and carried by the Senate. It is No. 24 of the Notice Paper. I seek leave to read a short statement into the Hansard, rather than table a document. Because I have it in that format, it will only be very short. It is a direct response to the return to order.

Leave granted.

This is a response from the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, on behalf of Senator Ludwig, who represents her in the chamber. I gather a copy of the letter has been sent to Senator Cormann. In part, the response is this:

... refer to the motion made pursuant to standing order 164 on 18 August 2009 seeking the production of documents held by the Department of Health and Ageing by 12 pm today in relation to the 2008 Budget measure titled “More efficient arrangements for funding chemotherapy drugs’. I can advise that I have been in contact with the Minister for Health and Ageing in relation to the order.

The documents identified in the order are references to a number of files of the Department of Health and Ageing, The files contain approximately 500 documents, including Cabinet documents and documents of a commercially sensitive nature. The contents of the files are currently being examined and a response will be provided to the Senate as soon as possible.