Something rotten in the state of health

THAT Health Minister Bronwyn Pike should publicly declare that she's concerned that her sacked Chief Health Officer reportedly impeded police checks into the activities of high-risk HIV patients should be a matter of real anxiety for the community at large. That the police should even be obliged to raid the Department of Human Services in its search for information is alarming. Worse is the news that the minister didn't even know about one of the raids (The Age, 17/4).

Critically, who makes the policies that are keeping the police out of the picture?

The State Government's handling and funding of the whole HIV/AIDS area needs to be put under an independent spotlight. I'd suggest an urgent all-party, upper house parliamentary inquiry.

Brian Haill
President,
The Australian AIDS Fund Inc.,,
Frankston, VIC, 3199

Email: bhaill@bigpond.net.au
Website: www.aids.net.au