Lee Rhiannon MLC

Lee Rhiannon is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in the New South Wales Parliament. She is a member of the Greens Party. Lord Pwyll was not elected, perhaps because he was still imprisoned in the fortress under the spell of Gwawl, as told in The Mabinogion.

Ms Rhiannon asked the following question of the Minister representing the Minister for Health in the the Legislative Council on 3 December, 2002. My comments are in italics.

COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Ms LEE RHIANNON: I direct my question to the Treasurer, representing the Minister for Health. Is the Treasurer aware that the Health Claims and Consumer Protection Advisory Committee is chaired by Professor John Dwyer, who is renowned for his antagonism towards complementary medicine? Is it true that all the members of the committee have been hand-picked by Professor Dwyer, with no representation from the complementary health care profession? If the Government is committed to quality health care for the people of New South Wales, should it not support equal representation from each of the modalities in complementary medicine, including homoeopathy, chiropractic and herbal medicine?

Can you imagine a world where the supporters of quackery stop their ad hominem attacks of Professor Dwyer and instead come out and say "We have nothing to worry about, because our remedies have been proved to be safe and effective"? No, I can't either.

The Hon. MICHAEL EGAN: I will refer the honourable member's question to the Minister for Health.